Why you must issue employment contracts in 2020

November 1, 2019

At the moment, you must give all employees (but not workers such as casual staff) written details of their terms and conditions
within 2 months of starting work. This is changing so that from the 6th April 2020 you must issue a contract on or before the first day of employment and so will become a day one right for workers and employees.

You will also have to provide the following additional information;
1. How long you expect the job to last.
2. What the notice period is.
3. Details of paid leave entitlements (such as maternity and sick leave).
4. The duration and conditions of any probationary period.
5. All remuneration (not just pay).
6. Which days and times you require the person to work.

Although this details can be provided in a written statement as there are additional clauses you may as well draft a full contract of employment The right applies to everyone on your payroll who is an employee, you must have their written statement ready as soon as they start work and include more details than currently. Even if you take someone on for less than 2 months, you will need to give them a written statement.

This change will affect all employers. If you are taken to an Employment Tribunal and a claim is brought against you for not issuing a contract on time the maximum award will now be £20,000 even if you win the substantive claim.

This means being quicker off the mark when you hire someone and more administration overall. We are designing a new service to help with this so please email us at ilock@qandalaw.co.uk for more information and we will let you know when we are releasing it.

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