1. CONTRACTS OF EMPLOYMENT

2. FEATURES OF A CONTRACT Under The Employment Rights Act (1996) employers must employees who have been working for more than one month, a written statement of their rights and conditions of employment. The contract should be issued within two months of the employee starting their job.

3. The Contract of Employment Act (1972) states that contracts should have the following things: The name and address of the employer and the employee The job title and date employment started The hours of work

4. The rate of pay, when payment is and dates of any increases Holiday entitlement Conditions regarding sickness benefit Details relating to pension schemes Explanation of disciplinary and grievance procedures Period of notice that must be given or received

5. TYPES OF CONTRACTS TEMPORARY This is a contract that does not last forever, although no date is specified when employment will end. Commonly used as a trial period for new employees before gaining a permanent contract.

6. PERMANENT This contract is “everlasting” or “endless”. These contracts have no end date – the job is safe and secure.

7. FIXED-TERM These are similar to temporary contracts. The difference is that there is an end date stated on the contract. Also a fixed-term contract could be used for one-off tasks and when that task is complete the contract ends

8. FULL-TIME In the UK employees who work on average 41 hours a week will have a full-time contract PART-TIME Less than full-time, ie less that an average of 41 hours will be given a part-time contract.

9. OTHER RELEVANT INFORMATION WORKING HOURS The Working Time Directive (1998) gives all employees the right to:- 4 weeks’ annual paid leave 11 consecutive hours’ rest in any 24 hour period A 20-minute break after working 6 hours A limit of am average 48 hours’ a week A limit of an average of 8 hours’ a day

10. PERIOD OF NOTICE The minimum notice periods are:- After 4 weeks of unbroken service – at least 1 week For 2 years unbroken service – at least 2 weeks For each further full year of service – 1 additional week, up to a maximum of 12.

11. REDUNDANCY Employees can be made redundant in the following circumstances:- Business is closing down Business is moving Insufficient work available Employers must consult with Trade Unions over any proposed redundancies.

12. Under the Employment Rights Act (1996) employers must give a redundancy payment which is related to age, length of service and weekly wage. Employees who do not have unbroken service of 2 years or 5 years part-time are not entitled to a payment. Employees under 20 or at retirement age do not get payment either. Redundancy pay is approximately one week’s wage for every year worked.

13. UNFAIR DISMISSAL The Employment Relations Bill (1999) states that employees who have worked for an employer for more than one year have the right not to be unfairly dismissed. If employee is dismissed because of lack of ability, qualifications, misconduct or lack of demand for products, this is FAIR DISMISSAL

14. If an employee thinks they have been unfairly dismissed they can appeal to an industrial tribunal. If the industrial tribunal finds that an employee has been unfairly dismissed then they can order:- The employee to be given back the same job The employee given another job Compensation to be paid to the employee