Drafting that Contract

All employees taken on for one month or more are legally entitled to receive within two months a written statement setting out the main particulars.

This statement will not necessarily cover every aspect of the contract, but will constitute important evidence of the principal terms and conditions. Unfortunately, many employees have no written contracts of employment for the simple reason that the employer did not know where to start.

When a full contract has not been produced, an implied or oral contract will immediately come into existence. Implied terms might include those that are too obvious to be expressly agreed, those that are necessary to make the contract workable and those that are established by custom and practice in the particular organisation or industry concerned. There is obviously a huge potential for disagreement. Unfortunately for employers, Industrial Tribunals have a reputation for extremely fickle judgements.