Contracts Of Employment

All employees who wish to legally work for an employer are required by law to have a valid contract of employment. Even though a employment contract is required by law, it does not necessarily need to be given to both parties in writing, but it will still remain a valid contract.

Contract of employment are put in place so that all the terms and conditions of the employment can be legally set out. The terms of this agreement are there to ensure that no disputes can arise between the employer and the employee; contracts will tend to cover a variety of areas, which usually include:

Contractual disputes

An employee's salary

Employees employment rights

Employee duties and responsibilities

This contract will come into play as soon as the job offer is accepted; from here the employee will have agreed with the terms of the contract regardless of whether or not they have any previous knowledge of the jobs details. Both parties will now be legally bound to contract of employment until there are changes in the terms and conditions, or the job comes to an end.

Contractual terms and conditions are set out to provide both the employee and the employer with details about what is expected from them. These terms will often reference various different sources; there are also several different ways that they can be agreed to:

Via letter

Written document

Verbal agreements

Employee handbooks stating company policies, and the terms and conditions

The terms can also be found in two other areas;

Collective Agreements: which are often used to explain arrangements between employers and a trade union. These agreements tend to allow the union to negotiate various terms on behalf of the union members.

Implied Contract terms: these are not written or recorded in any way, but they are still seen as valid terms. These are the kinds of terms that are usually required in a contract, but are considered to be assumptions or too obvious to be written.

Contracts of employment can also be very useful if a dispute arises between the employer and the employee, they can be used as a reference to previous agreements. But, it is important to remember that a employment contract does not overrule an employee's rights that accompany the law.

If an employer breaches any rules set out in an employment contract, the employee will have the legal right to take their case to an employment tribunal. Contracts of employment do not just set out company rules and regulations for the employee; they also allow the employee to legally reinforce their rights when any kind of unfair treatment or poor working conditions arise.