It is often surprising how many employers do not have the basics in place. Others have the contracts and policies but they have been in place for some time. It is recommended that even if you have existing employment contracts, policies and handbooks these are reviewed every two years to ensure that they are legally compliant.

It is a legal requirement that employers provide employees with certain key information forming their terms and conditions within two months of starting employment. Having a written contract of employment is certainly recommended as it helps remove uncertainty over what was agreed orally later. Even if you have no written contract you are likely to have agreed terms and conditions either specifically with the employee or have them implied over time through custom and practice.

Restrictive covenants should be carefully drafted and considered on an individual basis. I have also dealt with a case where the employer used a template contract provided by an employment law consultancy firm where all his staff including administrative staff had three month notice periods. This cost him more money on a redundancy dismissal than the cost of having a template tailored to the needs of the business and some guidance as to what to put in it.

I provide a fixed fee service for all work around contracts and policies/handbooks to provide certainty of cost. This provides a great value service to ensure that the cornerstones of your employment relationship are right from the start.

To obtain a quote for contracts, policies or handbooks or to find out more please do not hesitate to contact me.