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Contract of employment

A contract is not just a bit of paper. A contract is an agreement. When you agree to work for your employer and the employer agrees to pay you for what you do, you have a contract, even if nothing is in writing at that stage.

No matter how many hours a week you work, you are entitled to get a ‘written statement of your terms and conditions of employment’ within two months of starting the job.

By law the written statement must give certain information. It can either list these details itself, or tell you to look up them up in a staff handbook. The handbook must be available to all the employees. The information includes:  

  • the names of you and your employer
  • the title of the job and the date you started work
  • your pay and how often you get it, for example, weekly or monthly
  • the hours of work
  • number of days holiday and holiday pay, if any
  • how much notice (warning) you are entitled to if you are dismissed and how much notice you must give the employer if you want to leave the job
  • where the job is based, for example, whether you will have to work in more than one location
  • what the disciplinary, dismissal and grievance procedures are in the workplace
  • what sick pay you are entitled to
  • whether you can join the company pension scheme, if there is one. 

If you want this written statement you can ask the employer for one verbally or in writing. It is usually best to ask for it in writing and keep a copy of your letter, so that you can prove you asked for the statement.


The law entitles you to this statement. If, however, you think that your employer may try to dismiss you for asking for it, contact an experienced adviser, for example, a Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) worker. You can find out which is your nearest Citizens Advice Bureau by contacting Citizens Advice Scotland, as follows:

 

Citizens Advice Scotland
1st Floor
Spectrum House
2 Powderhall Road
Edinburgh
EH7 4GB
Tel: 0131 550 1000
Fax: 0131 550 1001
Web: http://www.cas.org.uk/

 

Helpful Website:  http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/life/employment/basic_rights_at_work.htm#Written_statement_of_the_main_terms_and_