UK: Contracts of employment

Updating author: Jo Broadbent, Hogan Lovells International LLP

Original author: Darren Newman

See the legal services provided by the updating author of International > United Kingdom, including any discounts/offers for subscribers.

Summary

• Employment contracts may be written or oral, and may contain both express and implied terms. (See General)
• Only individuals defined as employees may claim many employment rights, and whether or not an individual is considered to be an employee depends on a variety of factors and the particular circumstances. (See Defining employees)
• An individual who is not an employee may be deemed a "worker", and has limited entitlements under employment legislation. (See Defining workers)
• Probationary periods typically last for either three or six months and are governed by the terms of the individual employment contract. (See Probationary periods)
• There are few legal restrictions on, or distinctions between, types of employment contract. (See Types of contract/employee)
• The employer must give employees and workers a written statement of their particulars of employment, containing specified information, by the start of employment. (See Written statement of terms of employment)
• An employer that wishes to change an employee's terms and conditions must, in general, do so only with the agreement of the employee or, where the term in question derives from a collective agreement, the agreement of the trade union concerned. (See Variation of contract)