Whilst employers are not legally required to enter into formal written contracts with their employees, there are a number of potential advantages to doing so.
For example, written contracts may specify a particular period of notice, or set restrictions on employees' activities after their period of employment.
However, there is no prescribed form that a written employment contract must take, meaning that it can be difficult to decide on what to include. The ICAEW Library & Information Service can help by providing guidance and model documents from authoritative sources.
Model contracts and clauses from our third-party databases
The ICAEW Library subscribes to specialist databases which provide regularly updated model contracts and clauses. Below are examples of documents we can email to ICAEW members, ACA students and other entitled users.
Model employment contract — basic
A basic template employment contract, covering issues such as hours of work, salary, holiday, and so on. In some sections a number of options are given, to enable you to tailor the contract to your needs.
Model employment contracts — casual workers / zero hours
Template contracts for the employment of workers on a casual or 'zero-hours' basis, setting out the employer's discretion to offer work, the terms governing the employee's acceptance of available work, and so on.
Model employment contracts — executives and senior employees
Template contracts for the employment of an executive director or a senior manager, including clauses relating to conflicts of interest, post-termination obligations, and more.
Model contract clauses
A large number of model clauses for inclusion in employment contracts, covering issues such as bonuses, commission, executive duties, expenses reimbursement, home working, termination, and more.
Contact the Library enquiry team on +44 (0)20 7920 8620 or email library@icaew.com to request documents or get help with research. The service is free for ICAEW members, ACA students and other permitted users.
eBooks
The Library & Information Service also provides access to a number of eBooks covering employment contracts as a benefit of membership. Please log in to access these titles. If you are unable to access an eBook, please see our Help and support or contact library@icaew.com.
Exclusive
Writing employment contracts
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
Employment
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.
Books in the ICAEW Library collection
In addition to the above resources, the collection of the ICAEW
Library & Information Service includes a range of print books which cover employment contracts. Some of these contain model documents. Recent titles available to borrow from the Library include:
Employment law handbook
A comprehensive overview of the main topics within employment law, in an easy-to-use format.
Drafting employment contracts
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
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
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.
Bloomsbury Accounting and Tax Service
Eligible firms have free access to Bloomsbury Professional's comprehensive online library, comprising around 80 titles from some of the country's leading tax and accounting subject matter experts. Find out who is eligible and how you can access the Accounting and Tax Service.
Exclusive
The Employment Contract
A chapter on employment contracts, covering the value of a formal contract, fixed-term contracts, sickness absences, statutory particulars, contracts for shop workers, part-time workers, temporary workers, teleworkers, homeworkers rights and employee surveillance.
Exclusive
Precedent 1: Contract of employment
A model employment contract, setting out example terms of employment, the employee's obligations, the company's obligations, holiday entitlement, incapacity provisions, employee's activities after employment and statutory particulars.
Exclusive
Part F: Employment
Twenty chapters on employment law in this reference guide for accountants faced with an unfamiliar legal problem or query. Topics covered include recruitment, the employment contract, pay, discrimination, family friendly arrangements, absences, trade union matters, transfers and mergers, termination of employment, dismissal, redundancy and claims.
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