Q. Why should I have a contract of employment and employee handbook?

A. It is a statutory requirement that all employees are issued with a statement of their terms and conditions within 2 months of the commencement of their employment. The statement should contain the following information:

• Name of the employer and employee;

• The date on when the employment commenced;

• The date on which any period of continuous employment commenced;

• The scale or rate of remuneration and the intervals of payment;

• Hours of work;

• Holiday, sickness and pension entitlement;

• Notice requirements;

• Job title or description;

• Whether the contract is temporary or fixed term, the term;

• Place of work;

• Any collective agreements; and

• Whether the employee is required to work outside the UK for period in excess of one month (Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996).

A contract should cover all of the above and contain other terms and conditions under which the employee is employed which may include restrictive covenants, a probation period and a confidentiality clause.

An employee handbook should contain your organisation’s non-contractual operating policies and procedures on matters such as discipline and grievances, equal opportunities and use of IT facilities.

Employee documentation is invaluable in the event of a dispute with an employee. For example, when considering a claim for sex discrimination, an Employment Tribunal may draw adverse inferences if your organisation does not promote equal opportunities and has no policy.

A well-drafted contract, which is signed by an employee, may prevent that employee from poaching your customers or other employees, working for a competitor or interfering with your suppliers for a defined period following the termination of their employment.

Q. Can I vary our shift pattern without consulting the workforce?

A. Changing terms and conditions without employee consent can be problematic and we suggest that you always take advice before doing so. The answer depends on the circumstances and will involve a consideration of whether you have a contractual right to vary terms and conditions, in particular, working hours; whether the change is reasonable; whether adequate notice of the change has been given; whether there are sound business reasons for the change and whether there is a collective agreement in force with a trade union or a works council which covers such a variation.

Q. Do I always have to follow a procedure before dismissing someone?

A. The short answer is “yes”! The statutory dispute resolution procedures were abolished in April 2009, however, Employment Tribunals will take into account to what extent an employer has followed the ACAS Disciplinary and Grievance Code of Practice. Tribunals may make an adjustment of up to 25% for unreasonable failure to follow the ACAS Code.

Q. Do I have to allow an employee to work part-time once they return from maternity leave?

A. Employees have a right to request a permanent change in their working arrangements if they have a child under the age of 16 whose upbringing they are responsible for and they are making the request to care for the child. There is a statutory process to be followed in order for it to be a valid request. An employer must seriously consider the request and any refusal to allow the request must fall within certain defined grounds which include the burden of additional costs; detrimental effect on the ability to meet customer demand; an inability to reorganise work amongst existing staff and insufficiency of work during the periods the employee proposes to work.

Q. Can I dismiss an employee with less than one year’s continuous service?

A. You should always take advice before dismissing any employee, particularly if they are close to 12 months service. The statutory notice period may take them over the threshold and give them the requisite period of continuous service to claim unfair dismissal. No service at all is required to bring certain employment claims such as discrimination on the base of sex, race or disability. It is always sensible to give a reason for dismissal to defend any claim that the dismissal was for a prohibited reason (such as on grounds as sex, race or disability). In essence, it is a case of considering potential defences to such claims from the outset. In addition, no qualifying period of service is necessary for employees where the reason or principle reason for the dismissal falls within certain defined categories. These include dismissal for a union related reason (or where selection for redundancy is for a union related reason); where the employee was asserting a statutory right; a health and safety related reason; and a maternity related reason.

Q. Are part-time workers entitled to be paid for bank holidays even though they do not normally work on those days?

A. Terms and conditions of part-time employees should be no less favourable than those of full-time employees, pro-rata. Accordingly, part-time employees should receive a pro-rata entitlement to bank holidays. For example, if a full-time employee is entitled to 8 bank holidays per annum, an employee who works 3 days per week should be entitled to 5 bank holidays (3/5th of the full-time employee’s entitlement rounded up to the nearest half day).

Q. Do I have to provide a pension to employees?

From 2012, changes to pensions law will affect all employers with at least one worker in the UK. To help you prepare for your new duties, the Pensions Regulator has produced detailed guidance and resources setting out what the changes will mean for you http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/docs/workplace-pensions-law-is-changing.pdf