All About Contracts!

Relationship between Offer Letters and Contracts:

Promises that are made within the offer letter sent to the employee can be considered legally binding, or even form part of what would be considered the contract under law. This means that you must always be careful not to make promises in the offer letter that you do not intend to keep.

It is important to also note that verbal agreements made in the interview process, and even information on the job advertisement can also be considered part of the contract by law. Ensure to always be transparent about what you actually can and cannot offer the employee, as well as what your expectations are for them.

Who counts as a worker, and what rights do they have?

There are some statutory rights that apply not only to your employees, but also to a wider category of “workers”- so, who fits into this category? ACAS states that you are more likely to be classed as a worker if:

· “Your work for the organisation is more casual, for example your work is less structured or not regular

· You’re employed to do the work yourself

· You’re not offered regular or guaranteed hours by your employer

· You have very little obligation to make yourself available for work, but should do work you have agreed to”

This means that even those that are employed on a more casual basis by you, or those that are self-employed but still perform duties for your business, are still entitled to certain rights that other employees will receive.

The specific statutory rights given to workers are as follows:

· Paid annual leave

· A limit of 48 hours working time a week

· Rest breaks

· National minimum/living wage

· To not receive less favourable treatment on account of working part time

· To be protected against unlawful discrimination

Consequences of breaching the contract when making changes the employee does not agree to

The main danger of breaching the contract between you and your employee is that they may resign and claim constructive dismissal before an employment tribunal. Even if the employee chooses not to resign, they can still claim damages against you for breach of contract.

There is obviously a chance that the employee may not act on the breach of contract. Where you have imposed a change upon them that they have not agreed to, and then continue to work under those terms without making any objections to you, after a period of time then they could be understood to have accepted the change. This period of time varies on a case-by-case basis, however it is more likely to be a period of months rather than weeks.