For many businesses across the UK, the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (Furlough) took much of our focus in March and April 2020 on the Employee Relations front.
However, there was another significant change that was also made in April 2020 – the Written Statement of Employment Particulars, often known as the Employment Contract or Terms and Conditions of Employment.
There are a number of key changes that all Employers should be aware of:
- All workers employed on or after 6 April 2020 will be entitled to a Written Statement of Employment Particulars regardless of their employment status, no matter how long they will be working for a company.
- All Employees and Workers must be provided with their Written Statement on or before their first day of employment. This is a change from the previous 8 weeks’ timescale employers had to provide a Written Statement.
- In addition to the information which must already be included in a Written Statement of Employment Particulars at present, the following additional information must be provided:
- The hours and days of the week the worker /employee is required to work, whether they may be varied and how;
- Entitlements to any paid leave (for example, sick leave, compassionate leave, maternity and paternity leave etc.);
- Any other benefits not covered elsewhere in the Written Statement;
- Details of any probationary period and the terms of the probationary period;
- Details of any mandatory training provided by the employer and the terms of the training e.g. if the employee will be required to pay for any mandatory training.
Whilst many of our clients will have these contracts in place, we recommend taking the time to review your current contract documentation to ensure it covers all necessary requirements.
If you require support in this area, our team can undertake reviews and provide recommendations to ensure you are contractually sound. Don’t hesitate to get in touch to discuss your requirements.