Contracts of Employment and Employment Rights – individuals

If you need advice on:

• any of the terms of your employment contract
• your rights if you don’t receive contract of employment
• what you can do if your employer wants to make changes to your contract

Statement of terms and particulars of employment

Within two months of starting your employment, you should receive a written statement which sets out important information about your employment.  If your employer changes any of those terms, you should receive an updated statement within a month.  If you have not received a written statement or contract of employment which gives you this information, and there is then a dispute about any of your terms of employment, our team of specialist employment law solicitors can help you.

Service agreements

We regularly help directors and senior executives with their service agreements.  We will ensure that you fully understand how the terms of the contract, including restrictive covenants, will affect you and can help you negotiate better terms if the contract seems to be one sided.

Changes to your employment contract

Sometimes, your employer may want to make a change to your employment contract.  This could include changes to your duties, pay or benefits.  Generally speaking, your employer should obtain your agreement to make those changes, but this will not always be the case.  If you are unhappy with the new terms that your employer wants to introduce, or if you find that changes have been made without discussion with you, you should take advice from us as soon as possible. Our team can write to your employer or help you with any letters that you need to send to protect your position, negotiate on your behalf and help you with any claims that you may need to bring.

Our charges

As with everything we do, our charges are very reasonable and in the vast majority of cases, we will agree a fixed fee for your work.  We are clear on our costs from the outset, so you can safely budget, with no fear of receiving an unexpected bill from us.

What to do next

Our employment lawyers would be happy to see you at any of our offices in Ipswich, Hadleigh, Felixstowe or Woodbridge. If you need to see one of our lawyers at short notice, that’s not a problem.  We can also offer free car parking at our Ipswich office when you make your appointment. Contact our team of employment solicitors on 01473 298126 or by email.

FAQs

My employer hasn’t issued me with a contract of employment, what should I do?

Employers must provide their workers and employees with their written statement on or before their first day of employment, no matter how long they’re employed for. If your employer has not provided you with a statement or a contract of employment you should ask for this. If your employer still doesn’t provide this, or if there is a disagreement about what your terms are, then you could make an application to an Employment Tribunal for it to determine what your terms and conditions are. Our employment solicitors can help you if you need to raise any concerns with your employer or make an application to the Employment Tribunal.

Disclaimer: This information is provided for general guidance only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. You must consult our employment solicitors if you require advice on your situation or circumstances.

My employer wants to change my terms and conditions, can they do that?

This depends on what your employer is attempting to change, the reason why the change is needed and the impact that the change would have on you. If your employer is planning on making significant changes to your contract, there must be a good business reason for this.  Your employer would also have to fully consult with you, to explain why the change is thought necessary and in an effort to try and reach an agreement with you.

Always take advice from our employment solicitors, as we will quickly be able to identify if your employer can make the changes that they want to.  If new changes are simply imposed on you, you may have a claim and should take advice from our employment solicitors.

Disclaimer: This information is provided for general guidance only and is not intended to constitute legal advice. You must consult our employment solicitors if you require advice on your situation or circumstances.

What should a statement of terms and particulars of employment include?

The statement of terms and particulars of employment should include:

• Your name and the name of your employer
• The date your employment started / when your period of continuous employment began
• How much pay you will get and when it will be paid
• What your hours of work are
• What your holiday entitlement is and how a day’s holiday pay is calculated
• What your sick pay entitlement is
• Your job title or a description of the work you do
• Your place of work
• Your notice period entitlements
• What pension scheme is available to you, if any
• If your contract is for a fixed term or is not intended to be permanent, when it will come to an end
• To whom you should raise a grievance if you have a complaint against your employer
• To whom you should appeal if you are unhappy with any disciplinary action taken against you
• Whether there are any collective agreements negotiated by a trade union which apply to your employment

Your employer should give this statement to you within 2 months of you starting a new job.  If not, contact our team of employment lawyers in Ipswich.