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A. From 6 April 2020, the Good Work Plan, which was designed to take forward many of the recommendations in the Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices, came into force. This amended the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) and brought in a requirement that from that date all new employees and workers must get their statement of written particulars (part of the employment contract) on or before their first day. As your client hasn’t updated their contract since this date, it’s likely they’re missing some key details.
Section 1 of the ERA sets out what must be included in a statement of written particulars and includes:
o the names of the employer and employee
o the dates the employment commenced and of any period of continuous employment
o details about hours of work and pay and the interval of payment
o holiday entitlement and holiday pay – your client should be aware that from 6 April 2020 the rules on reference periods in relation to paid annual leave changed which might need to be amended in their employment contracts. The reference period for determining an average week’s pay (for the purposes of calculating holiday pay where variable remuneration or no normal working hours) increased from 12 weeks to 52 weeks, or the number of complete weeks for which the worker has been employed.
o the days of the week the worker is required to work and whether working hours or days may be variable, with details of how they may vary
o any entitlement to paid leave, including all paid statutory family related leave which includes from 6 April 2025, neonatal care leave
o any other remuneration or benefits provided by the employer
o any probationary period, including any conditions and its duration
o any training provided by the employer which the worker is required to complete and any other required training in respect of which the employer will not bear the cost.
o the notice periods for termination by either side
o terms relating to absence due to incapacity and sick pay
o terms as to length of temporary or fixed-term work
o terms related to work outside the UK for a period of more than one month.
Other information, such as that about a disciplinary procedure, can be given in another statement or reasonably accessible document.
The dangers of out-of-date contracts
There are potential pitfalls for not maintaining legally compliant contracts. Firstly, it would mean that the employer is not meeting their obligation to provide a statement of written particulars, which is a claim that can be brought before a tribunal alongside another claim (a ‘piggyback’’ claim). The award for that is between two and four weeks pay.
Secondly, if the employment contract is out of date, it means the employee is not being given their full rights and entitlements, which means they may be missing out on important statutory minimums in breach of the law. It can also mean they are not being made aware of their basic employment rights, such as the types of paid leave they can access, which could be of benefit to them.
We recommend that your client as a matter of urgency reviews all of their employment contracts. These should be updated where necessary. Any changes should be discussed with employees and they should be asked to sign and return their new contract.
