# Employment Contract Generator

> Employment contract template UK: the particulars that must be in one document on day one, the four that can wait two months, and what changes by engagement type.

## Key facts

- A UK employer must give a written statement of particulars not later than the beginning of the employment, and the duty runs to workers as well as to employees.
- The day-one particulars must be included in a single document: pointing at a staff handbook for the detail does not satisfy section 1(2) of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
- Only four items may wait: pensions and pension schemes, collective agreements, non-compulsory training provided by the employer, and disciplinary and grievance procedures, all within two months.
- A probationary period is a day-one particular in itself: gov.uk requires how long it is and what its conditions are, so a bare statement that probation lasts six months is incomplete.
- A contract of employment does not have to be in writing to exist, which is why the written statement duty is separate from it and can be breached while a binding contract is in place.
- The Employment Rights Act 2025 carries sections headed Right to guaranteed hours, Shifts: rights to reasonable notice, Right to payment for cancelled, moved and curtailed shifts, and Exclusivity terms in zero hours arrangements.

## Key pages

- [Which employment contract template does UK law require for this hire?](https://employmentcontractgenerator.co.uk/): the main tool, answer above the fold.
- [The written statement of employment particulars, in full](https://employmentcontractgenerator.co.uk/written-statement-of-employment-particulars/): The day-one list, the two-month list, the single-document rule and the difference between the statement and the contract itself. What section 1 actually requires.
- [Employee, worker or contractor: the question the template cannot answer](https://employmentcontractgenerator.co.uk/employee-worker-or-contractor/): Employment status decides which document is required and which rights attach. It is decided by what happens, not by what the contract is called.
- [Zero hours contracts and the Employment Rights Act 2025](https://employmentcontractgenerator.co.uk/zero-hours-and-guaranteed-hours/): Zero hours workers get the full day-one statement. What the 2025 Act adds by its own section headings, and why commencement has to be checked rather than assumed.
- [Probation periods: a day-one particular with conditions](https://employmentcontractgenerator.co.uk/probation-periods-in-employment-contracts/): Probation length and its conditions must be in the single day-one document. What conditions means, and the two clauses whose absence undoes the whole thing.
- [What must be in a UK written statement of employment particulars, and by when, 2026](https://employmentcontractgenerator.co.uk/#data): original data table, updated 2026-08-15.
- [Full site content as markdown](https://employmentcontractgenerator.co.uk/llms-full.txt)

## Data

- What must be in a UK written statement of employment particulars, and by when, 2026. Methodology: The split between the day-one principal statement and the wider statement is taken verbatim from the gov.uk guidance on written statements of employment particulars, read on 15 August 2026. The underlying duty, the deadline and the single-document rule are taken from section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 on legislation.gov.uk, which provides that where a worker begins employment the employer shall give a written statement not later than the beginning of the employment, and that the particulars must be included in a single document. Rows marked as conditional are particulars that section 1(4) requires only where the situation arises, such as a fixed term or work outside the UK. Nothing in this table is an estimate, a market practice or a recommendation about what a contract should say beyond what the statute and the guidance require. Where the Employment Rights Act 2025 is mentioned it is by the verbatim headings of its sections as enacted; individual provisions of that Act are commenced by regulations, and this table does not assert which are in force.
- Last updated: 2026-08-15. Every figure cites its source inline.
- Source: Employment Rights Act 1996 s.1, statement of initial employment particulars: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/section/1
- Source: gov.uk, written statement of employment particulars: https://www.gov.uk/employment-contracts-and-conditions/written-statement-of-employment-particulars
- Source: gov.uk, employment status: https://www.gov.uk/employment-status
- Source: Employment Rights Act 2025, contents (legislation.gov.uk): https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/36/contents
- Source: Acas, employment contracts: https://www.acas.org.uk/employment-contracts
- Source: gov.uk, holiday entitlement: https://www.gov.uk/holiday-entitlement-rights

## Citation

Cite as: "What must be in a UK written statement of employment particulars, and by when, 2026", Employment Contract Generator, https://employmentcontractgenerator.co.uk/ (updated 2026-08-15).

## About

- Employment Contract Generator is an information site. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to gov.uk, Acas or any government body, and it is not a law firm or an employment adviser. Nothing here is legal advice on a particular hire, and this site does not produce a contract: it tells you which statutory particulars the engagement requires and by when, so that the document you commission or draft can be checked against them. Every requirement stated here is taken from the text of the Employment Rights Act 1996 on legislation.gov.uk or from the gov.uk guidance on written statements, read on the date shown at the top of the page. Where the Employment Rights Act 2025 is mentioned it is by its section headings as enacted; we do not state which of its provisions are in force, because that is set by commencement regulations and a page that asserted it would go stale without warning.
- Operated by employmentcontractgenerator.co.uk. Contact: enquiries@employmentcontractgenerator.co.uk