WHAT IS A CONTRACT OF EMPLOYMENT

Feb 27 2008 by Sue Scott, Evening Gazette

Q. What is a contract of employment?

A. A contract of employment is an agreement between an employer and a worker setting out the terms under which they will have a working relationship. A contract of employment is defined as a contract of service or apprenticeship and someone working under a contract of employment is an employee.

Q. What is a contract for service?

A. If someone is working not under a contract of employment but under a contract FOR services, s/he will not be an employee but will be self-employed.

Q. Does a contract of employment have to be in writing?

A. An employee always has a contract of employment with her/his employer. The employee may not have anything in writing, but a contract will still exist. This is because the employee’s agreement to work for the employer, and the employer’s agreement to pay the employee forms the basis of a contract.

Q. What are contractual terms?

A. A contract of employment gives both an employee and an employer certain rights and obligations. The most common examples are that an employee will have the right to be paid for the work that s/he does and will have a right to paid holidays and other such rights. An employer has a right to give reasonable instructions to an employee, and to have a job completed by the employee. These rights and obligations are called contractual terms.

Q. Who decides what goes into the contract of employment?

A. An employer and an employee can agree to whatever terms they wish to have included in the contract of employment so long as these are not unlawful or in breach of any statutory rights the employee may have. In reality and in most instances, it is the employer who decides on the majority of contractual terms.

Q. What if either an employer or employee does not fulfil a contractual term?

A. If either the employer or employee does not fulfil a contractual term then s/he will be in breach of contract. The other party may then sue for damages. For example, if an employer does not pay an employee, the employee may be able to sue the employer to get the money that s/he is owed.

Q. Does an employer have to provide every employee with a written contract of employment?

A. There is a statutory right for all employees to receive from their employer a Written Statement of Employment Particulars which in most cases may be identical to what a contract of employment would be and would contain.

For further advice and information on all Employment Law matters, contact your local CAB. There are CABs in Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland and Stockton on Tees.