Do I need to give my employee a contract?

In the UK it is a legal requirement that if someone is working with you for longer than two months that you provide them with a written statement of their terms and conditions of employment. While this is not an employment contract, it does include lots of information about the working relationship such as payment, shift patterns, working location and holiday entitlement.

A written contract expands on these key points and tailors them towards your business needs, providing you with security and recourse should things go wrong. So it is a smart decision for businesses to provide their employees with a written contract.

Many businesses ask for additions to their contracts which can help protect them. For example through the use of restrictive covenants which can help to protect information, knowledge, contacts and key company assets. Non-compete clauses can be used to prevent an employee going into competition with their former employer, a non-poaching clause can be used to prevent them from taking colleagues with them, and a non-solicitation clause might be used to stop them from approaching former clients.

Increasingly with the rise of social media, many businesses also now choose to adopt a social media policy which can help to protect the businesses reputation and prevent employees from embarrassing the company. Many also choose to have policies put in place to prevent data theft by monitoring email and web traffic as well as banning use of personal IT equipment like laptops, mobiles, hard drives and USB pens which can also present a security risk.

Here at Rollingsons we have extensive experience dealing with employment contracts for our business clients. We can help you draft a contract or assist you in enforcing its terms through the courts. Please call us on 0207 7611 4848 to arrange an initial consultation, or click here to read more about our employment law team.