Pro forma Statement of Terms of Employment with Guide to Completion

In this Article we offer a pro forma/style Statement of Particulars of Employment which you should feel free to print and use for your own purposes.

Please note that unless we have reviewed a completed draft on your behalf, we accept no responsibility for the content of this document or its application.

All employers are obliged to issue their employees with a written statement of prescribed terms if their employment lasts for one month or more. This pro forma includes those various terms.

Please refer to the explanatory notes incorporated within the pro forma.

[NAME OF EMPLOYER]

STATEMENT OF PARTICULARS OF EMPLOYMENT

(Employment Rights Act 1996)

From: [NAME OF EMPLOYER], a company incorporated under the Companies Acts (Company Number: [ ]) and having its Registered Office [principal place of business at] at [ ] ("the Company")

To: [NAME OF EMPLOYEE], residing at [ ].

This Statement sets out certain particulars of your employment with the Company, which are required to be given to you under the Employment Rights Act 1996.

1. TERM

1.1 Your employment commenced on [ ]. No employment with any previous employer counts as part of a period of continuous employment.

1.2 The length of notice which you are obliged to give the Company to terminate your employment is [four] weeks.

[NOTE 1]

If nothing else is said an employee is only obliged to give one week's notice of termination, no matter the length of employment. This is rarely sufficient time to find a replacement so we recommend extending this legal minimum.

1.3 The length of notice which you are entitled to receive from the Company to terminate your employment is one week until you have been continuously employed for two years and thereafter the notice entitlement increases by one week for each year of continuous employment until you have completed twelve years of continuous employment after which time you will be entitled to twelve weeks' notice.

[NOTE 2]

This is the statutory minimum for an employer.

1.4 The Company may at its absolute discretion elect to terminate your employment with immediate effect by paying salary in lieu of notice.

[NOTE 3]

You may not want your employees attending work if they are on notice so you may wish to consider an additional "garden leave" provision.

2. POSITION

2.1 The title of your job is [JOB TITLE], but occasionally you may be required to undertake additional or other duties as necessary to meet the needs of the business. Your place of employment is [ADDRESS], or at such other locations as the Company may reasonably require from time to time.

[NOTE 4]

We have built in some flexibility to try to avoid any argument that a change in duties or location entitles the employee to terminate the contract.

2.2 You will be obliged to conform to such hours of work as may from time to time reasonably be required of you to enable you to perform your duties. To the extent necessary you agree with the Company that the limit on your working time of not more than an average of 48 hours per week over a 17 week period imposed by The Working Time Regulations 1998 shall not apply during your employment subject to your right to terminate the agreement provided for in this paragraph on three months' written notice given at any time.

[NOTE 5]

We are excluding the operation of the Working Time Regulations insofar as allowed at Law.

2.3 At all times during your employment with the Company you will:

2.3.1 diligently carry out your duties and comply with all reasonable instructions of the Company;

2.3.2 take all reasonable care for your health and safety at work and that of your colleagues and observe all safety regulations of the Company;

2.3.3 keep all clothing or equipment supplied by the Company in a good and serviceable condition and inform the Company in the event that any such clothing or equipment requires to be replaced;

2.3.4 not divulge any confidential information relating to the business of the Company or of its customers;

2.3.5 not carry out work or services for any other person or organisation without the prior written approval of the Company.

3. REMUNERATION

3.1 Your remuneration is [AMOUNT IN WORDS] POUNDS (£[ ]) STERLING per annum, payable [monthly] in arrears by [bank transfer] or such other method as the Company may designate from time to time.

3.2 The Company shall be entitled to demand and receive payment from you by way of deduction from your salary for:

3.2.1 overpaid salary, including absence without authority and holidays taken in excess of your holiday entitlement; and

3.2.1 the cost to the Company in respect of any matter which arises as a result of your negligence, including the loss of or damage to materials and equipment.

4. HOLIDAY ENTITLEMENT

[NOTE 6]

Consider carefully your requirements in terms of employee holidays. For example, you may require employees to work on public holidays or you may want to make it clear that under no circumstances can employees take more than two weeks at a time.

4.1 You are entitled to take [20] working days (including such statutory/public holidays as may be observed by the Company from time to time) in each holiday year, which runs from [1 January to 31 December] and you will be paid your normal basic remuneration during such holidays.

4.2 If your employment commenced or terminates part way through the holiday year, your entitlement to holidays during that year will be assessed on a pro rata basis. Any holiday entitlement unused at the end of the holiday year cannot be carried over into the next holiday year.

4.3 Holidays must be taken at times convenient to the Company and sufficient notice of your intention to take a holiday must be given to your supervisor.

5. SICKNESS ABSENCE

[NOTE 7]

This clause sets out the minimum statutory obligation which relates to Statutory Sick Pay. You can of course be more generous with your sick pay provisions.

5.1 If you are absent from work on account of sickness or injury, you or someone on your behalf should inform the Company of the reason of your absence as soon as possible on the first day of your absence.

5.2 In respect of absence lasting three or fewer calendar days you need not produce a medical certificate unless you are specifically requested to do so. You must, however, complete the Company's self-certification form immediately you return to work after such absence.

5.3 In respect of absence lasting more than three calendar days you must provide a medical certificate stating the reason for your absence and thereafter provide a like certificate each week to cover any subsequent period of absence.

5.4 The Company reserves the right to ask you at any stage of absence to produce a medical certificate and/or to undergo a medical examination.

5.5 The Company operates the Statutory Sick Pay scheme. The first three days of absence from work will be 'waiting days' in respect of which no statutory sick pay will be payable. If your absence continues you will be paid statutory sick pay for each day on which you are normally required to work for a maximum period of 26 weeks.

6. PENSIONS

6.1 The Company does not operate a pension scheme, but will facilitate your access to a designated stakeholder pension scheme to the extent it is required to do so as a matter of law. No contracting-out certificate is in force relating to your employment.

7. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

7.1.2 If you have a grievance regarding your employment you should first raise it orally with your immediate supervisor, who should give you a reply within two working days. If the reply does not satisfactorily resolve the grievance you may elect to notify the grievance to a director of the Company, who will give you a decision within five working days. This decision will be final.

8. DISCIPLINARY PROCEDURE

8.1 In the event that the Company is dissatisfied with your conduct or performance you will receive an oral warning, which will be recorded. If the offence is serious, a further offence occurs, or there is no improvement in your standards, you will receive a written warning. Should a further offence occur, or your standards still fail to improve you will be dismissed.

8.2 You will be dismissed immediately without notice or warning in cases of gross misconduct. Examples of gross misconduct include (but are not limited to) theft, fraud, wilful destruction of Company property, incapacity for work due to the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs, physical assault and gross insubordination.

8.3 You will be entitled to appeal against any disciplinary decision within two working days. A director of the Company will hear the appeal and decide the case as impartially as possible. You will be entitled to be accompanied at any disciplinary hearing by a colleague or trade union representative.

9. EQUIPMENT

9.1 a) The Company fax, e-mail equipment and computer may only be used for personal reasons where previously authorised by management. All such communications should be kept to an absolute minimum and only take place where this is absolutely necessary and has been duly authorised. Access to the internet is only ever permitted where this is taking place under the authority of management

Deliberate mis-use of any facility or property of the Company will constitute grounds for disciplinary action and will be dealt with in accordance with the Company=s disciplinary procedure.

b) Computers and software are to be used for company approved purposes only. Each item of computer software is subject to individual licence agreements which must be adhered to when using the software in question but generally include rules to disallow any unauthorised copying, reproduction, transmission or other method of distribution of the software, without the prior consent of the publisher, any mis-use of computers or software, or failure to follow designated methods or procedures in connection with the foregoing or constitute grounds for disciplinary action.

[NOTE 8]

It is good practice to have each employee sign a copy of their Statement and start a personnel file for each one.

Please acknowledge receipt of this statement by signing and returning the duplicate copy of the statement provided below.

………………………………..
for and on behalf of
[Name of Employer]

I, [NAME OF EMPLOYEE], acknowledge that I have received a statement of the particulars of my employment as required by the Employment Rights Act 1996 and confirm my agreement that these constitute my contract of employment with the Company.

………………………………..
Signed

……………………
Dated

[NOTE 9]

If you have sales or marketing employees, you should consider inserting a restrictive covenant. For further discussion on this area see the related article with that heading.