Essential points
- An employment contract, which sets out the terms and conditions of employment, is a key factor in defining the relationship between an organisation and its employees.
- An employer must provide both employees and workers with a statement of their basic terms such as the hours they will work, how much they will be paid, their holiday entitlement, their place of work, whether they must work a probationary period and so on, on their first day of employment.
- An employer must provide a more extensive written statement of the employee's or worker’s wider terms including pension eligibility, any collective agreements which will affect the employment relationship, any non-compulsory training that will be provided, and details on discipline and grievance procedures within two months of them starting work.
- An employment contract contains both express terms agreed between the employer and employee, and implied terms which arise from legislation or common law, or which are implied by custom and practice.
CIPD member content
This content is only available for CIPD members
If you’re already a CIPD member, please sign in to access this content
Disclaimer
Please note: While every care has been taken in compiling this content, CIPD cannot be held responsible for any errors or omissions. These notes are not intended to be a substitute for specific legal advice.
Related content on terms and conditions of employment
Understand the advantages and disadvantages of zero-hours contracts, recent UK legislative changes, and good practices to follow
A policy report providing latest insights on the scale and nature of the UK’s gig economy
Explore our resources regarding the legal issues of the terms and conditions of employment.
A round up of the year's statutory rates, providing quick and easy access to information on compensation limits, family friendly payments, statutory sick pay, national minimum wage, disclosure and barring fees and National Insurance contribution thresholds
Explore our collection of resources around legal issues surrounding race discrimination, including Q&As and relevant case law
Explore our collection of resources around the gender pay gap in UK employment law