Guide
The written statement of employment particulars, in full
Updated
The most useful thing to understand about UK employment documentation is that the contract and the written statement are two different things. The contract exists whether or not anybody writes it down. The statement is a statutory document with a list, a deadline and a format rule, and it is the one that gets employers into trouble.
The duty
Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 provides that where a worker begins employment with an employer, the employer shall give to the worker a written statement of particulars of employment, and that it must be given not later than the beginning of the employment.
Two words in that sentence do a lot of work. Worker, not employee: since April 2020 the duty has covered workers as well, which sweeps in casual and bank staff who often receive nothing. And not later than the beginning: this is a day-one right, not something that follows once HR catches up.
The single document rule
Subsection (2) requires the particulars to be included in a single document. This is the rule most often broken, and it is broken by employers who are otherwise careful, because the natural instinct is to write a two page offer letter and refer to the staff handbook for holiday, sick pay and hours.
That structure does not satisfy the section. The particulars go in the document. A handbook can add to them, expand on them and cover everything else; it cannot be where they live.
What goes in it
gov.uk sets out the principal statement as the employer's name; the employee's or worker's name, job title or a description of work and start date; how much and how often they will get paid; hours and days of work and if and how they may vary; holiday entitlement; where they will be working; how long a job is expected to last; how long any probation period is and what its conditions are; any other benefits; and obligatory training, whether or not this is paid for by the employer.
Four items may follow within two months in a wider statement: pensions and pension schemes, collective agreements, any other right to non-compulsory training provided by the employer, and disciplinary and grievance procedures.
Section 1(4) adds particulars that arise only in some engagements: the expected duration or end date where the employment is not intended to be permanent, and where the work is outside the UK for more than a month, the period, the currency of payment, any additional pay or benefits for working abroad, and the terms of return.
The two places holiday goes wrong
The statement has to give enough detail for entitlement, including accrued holiday pay on termination, to be precisely calculated. A line saying holiday is in line with statutory entitlement is not that.
The other is bank holidays. There is no statutory right to a paid bank holiday, and an employer may either count them inside the 5.6 weeks or give them on top. Which of those applies is a term of the contract and belongs in the statement. Leaving it unsaid produces the single most common annual leave dispute there is, and it costs one sentence to prevent.