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Employment contracts

Dealing with employment or labour contracts is a specialist area of employment law and often a complicated one. On this page you can find articles, books and online resources providing guidance, news and background information.
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Latest on employment contracts

Read our latest features and articles on employment contracts.
Tax news in brief 11 May
  • Article
  • 11 May 2022
Highlights from the broader tax news for the week ending 11 May 2022, including: late payment interest rate increase; guidance on changes to VAT penalties and VAT interest charges; revocation of recognised status for Moscow Stock Exchange; a GAAR Advisory Panel Opinion; exclusivity clauses in employment contracts; and HMRC’s Residential Property Developer Tax Manual.
Football-style employment contracts could be a gamechanger
  • Article
  • 01 Apr 2022
Is a new breed of employment contracts that take their inspiration from the beautiful game the answer to hanging onto your best people against a backdrop of huge attrition?
Ethnic minority women most likely to be trapped in zero-hour uncertainty
  • Article
  • 25 Jun 2021
At the end of 2020 Black and ethnic minority women made up the largest proportion of workers on insecure contracts, being almost twice as likely to be working on zero-hour contracts than white men.
Exclusive Don’t forget the legal side of your changes
  • Article
  • 09 Dec 2019
When you change, do it legally

Webinars

Essential employment issues
  • 25 Feb 2019
This new ten minute webinar format is being used to deliver a series of “what you need to know” webinars on best practice for employment issues.
More webinars

Legal Alert

Legal Alert is a monthly checklist from Atom Content Marketing highlighting new and pending laws, regulations, codes of practice and rulings that could have an impact on your business.
New law: Employers prepare for new zero-hours' worker right to request more predictable hours
  • Article
  • Mar 2023
Employers are assessing the likely impact of changes giving zero-hours and other workers with unpredictable hours a new right to request more predictable working patterns, and planning and budgeting accordingly.
New Code: New statutory Code for employers to regulate practice of ‘firing and rehiring’ employees
  • Article
  • May 2022
Employers will soon have to comply with a new, statutory Code on the practice of firing employees and then rehiring them on less favourable terms of employment, or risk paying extra compensation, including for unfair dismissal, if they get it wrong.
New guidance: Acas publishes guidance on how to avoid firing and rehiring to vary employees’ terms of employment
  • Article
  • Dec 2021
Employers will welcome further ACAS guidance on how to avoid firing and rehiring employees as a way to change their terms of employment.
New consultation: Government proposes changes to the law on non-compete clauses in contracts of employment
  • Article
  • Jan 2021
Employers will welcome the opportunity to comment on a consultation proposing to make it harder for employers to impose and enforce non-compete clauses on or against ex-employees after they leave their job.
Disclaimer

These articles from Atom Content Marketing are for general guidance only, for businesses in the United Kingdom governed by the laws of England. Atom Content Marketing, expert contributors and ICAEW (as distributor) disclaim all liability for any errors or omissions.

eBooks

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides full text access to a selection of key business and reference eBooks from leading publishers. eBooks are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users. If you are unable to access an eBook, please see our Help and support advice or contact library@icaew.com.

Exclusive Writing employment contracts
  • eBook chapter
  • 2017
  • Barry Cushway
  • Kogan Page
This chapter looks at contracts of employment and what constitutes an 'employee' as apposed to a 'worker'. Types of contracts and specific contractual clauses are dealt with.
Exclusive Handling organizational change
  • eBook chapter
  • 2017
  • Barry Cushway
  • Kogan Page
This chapter looks at organizational change and includes sections on: Changes in responsibilities; Changes to processes and procedures; Obtaining commitment to change; Relocation; and business transfers (Transfer of Undertakings [Protection of employment] Regulations or TUPE).
Exclusive Employment
  • eBook chapter
  • 2016
  • Ewan MacIntyre
  • Pearson
This chapter on employment covers the difference between employees and contractors, terms of an employment contract, termination of employment , wrongful dismissal, unfair dismissal and redundancy.
Terms of use

You are permitted to access, download, copy, or print out content from eBooks for your own research or study only, subject to the terms of use set by our suppliers and any restrictions imposed by individual publishers. Please see individual supplier pages for full terms of use.

More HR eBooks

Business press

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides access to leading business, finance and management journals. These journals are available to logged-in ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users subject to suppliers' terms of use.
Exclusive Defining workplace flexibility
  • Article
  • 01 Sep 2017
  • Vaneeta Khurana
The article discusses the notion of flexible employment status in relation to employment law and taxation in Great Britain. Topics include the nature of employment contracts in relation to self-employment, legal cases dealing with employment law and the gig economy, and the need for business documentation on employment status. To obtain the full text of this article please contact the library.
Exclusive Zero hours contracts clarifying employment status
  • Article
  • 01 Jul 2015
  • Elizabeth Stevens
Elizabeth Stevens explains why it is important to decide whether or not zero hours contracts are appropriate for your organisation - and the legal rights of individuals engaged under these contracts.
Exclusive Employee on fixed-term contract was not discriminated against when insurer refused income-replacement payments
  • Article
  • 01 Dec 2014
  • David Malamatenios, Colin Makin, Krishna Santra
Discussion of the case Hall v. Xerox UK Ltd, concerning whether the plantiff received less favourable medical insurance benefits from Xerox because he was on a fixed-term contract.
Exclusive Collective change
  • Article
  • 01 Mar 2014
  • Stuart Chamberlain
The article considers Great Britain's 2006 Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) regulations, or TUPE. Consideration is given to the application of TUPE to outsourcing, how TUPE deals with layoffs, limitations on a worker's right to charge unfair dismissal, and issues related to the harmonization of contracts of transferred employees with those of the firm they are transferring to. ** To access the full text of this article please contact the library**
Exclusive New tupe rules come into force
  • Article
  • 31 Jan 2014
  • Robert Crawford
The article reports on the changes to Great Britain's Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (Tupe) regulations which will come into effect on 31 January, 2014. These changes will make changing employees' terms and conditions of employment after a Tupe transfer easier, changes to terms and conditions of employment derived from collective agreements possible and collective redundancy consultation before a Tupe transfer possible
Exclusive Tupe changes will allow employment term renegotiation
  • Article
  • 24 Sep 2013
  • Clare Bettelley
Employers will be able to renegotiate the terms and conditions of employees when transferring them between businesses, as part of changes announced by the government to TUPE regulations.

Model documents and books in the ICAEW Library collection

The collection of the ICAEW Library & Information Service includes a range of articles, books and example documents related to employment contracts. Use the links below to see what we have available to request in our Library catalogue (Libcat).
Drafting employment contracts
  • Library book
  • 2017
  • G.Howard
  • The Law Society
Providing practical and thorough coverage, this book is both a tool for drafting employment contracts and a guide for creating policies and executing them. The chapters contain example precedent letters, terms and conditions, policies and clauses related to employment contracts. Topics covered include absence and sick pay, maternity, paternity, adoptive and parental leave, disciplinary and performance procedures, redundancy, grievances, harassment, bullying and whistleblowing.
Employment law and pensions
  • Library book
  • 2016
  • D.Pollard
  • Bloomsbury Professional
Contains sections giving an overview of pensions provision in the UK, automatic enrolment, employers and pension obligations, unlawful discrimination and pensions (including sex discrimination and age discrimination), employment contracts, employer's powers and consultation, maternity and paternity rights and pensions, TUPE and pensions and cessation of employment and pensions.
Essential documents employment
  • Library book
  • 2015
  • D.Callow
  • Indicator FL Memo
More than 350 example employment documents, including policies, procedures, checklists and forms, that you can readily apply in your workplace.

To find out how you can borrow books from the Library please see our guide to borrowing books.

You can obtain copies of articles or extracts of books and reports through our document supply service.

External resources - Acas guidance

Advice, guidance and practical resources on a wide variety of recruitment topics for both employers and employees, produced by the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, Acas. Acas is the employment relations service for England, Scotland and Wales offering practical, independent and impartial advice to employers, employees and their representatives.
Acas guide to flexible working and work-life balance
Acas guide outlining important considerations for employers of all sizes when implementing flexible working practices.
Changing an employment contract
General guidance on legal considerations when employers or employees wish to change a contract of employment.
Employment contracts
Information from Acas on contracts and written statements of employment, including an example statement.
What must be written in an employment contract
Guidance from Acas on the key points and legal requirements to cover when producing a written statement of employment.
Zero hours contracts
Guidance on what a zero hour contract is, with key points for both employers and employees to consider.
Terms of use

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided 'as is' with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

External resources - Guidance and advice

Contract of employment template
Free, downloadable contract of employment template from Clarkslegal. It provides wording for setting out job title, duties and place of work, the start date, and the length of any probationary period.
Contracts of employment and working hours
  • HM Government
Collection of government information covering employment contracts, employment status, working hours and holiday entitlement
Employment 2023 guide
  • Chambers and Partners
The Employment 2023 guide by specialist law publishers Chambers & Partners covers over 50 jurisdictions. The guide provides the latest legal information on terms of employment, non-compete and non-solicitation clauses, data privacy law, foreign workers, the role of unions and employee representative bodies, termination of employment, employment disputes and dispute resolution.
Employment contracts
  • HM Government
Government guidance on employment contracts with an overview and details of contract terms, collective agreements and written statements of employment particulars
Employment status
  • HM Government
Government guidance on employment status, giving overviews of 6 main employment types and their employment rights, entitlements and non-entitlements.
Good work: the Taylor review of modern working practices
  • Matthew Taylor
An independent review of modern working practices by Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the Royal Society of Arts.
Reorganising your business: Employment law implications
  • The Law Society
Practice note from the Law Society on the implications of a reorganisation a business for employment contracts, redundancies and the Transfer of Undertakings (TUPE) . Free registration required.
Zero hours contracts: guidance for employers
  • Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy
Government guidance for employers explaining what zero hours contracts are, outlining appropriate and inappropriate use, exclusivity clauses and best practice.
Terms of use

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided 'as is' with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

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