Model Contract of Employment / Terms and Conditions

These terms and conditions (commonly called a Contract of Employment) are produced in line with current good practice and based on the requirements of the Employment Protection Consolidation Act 1978, as amended. Unless specifically agreed in writing and attached to this document, any employment with any previous employer does not count as part of your continuous period employment.

This contract is dated and sets out the main particulars and terms and conditions by which we:

Employ you

As

Your employment started on

Your current remuneration is £........................ per annum or £............ per hour.
Overtime is not normally available / is paid at or £............ per hour.
Any changes or amendments to this will be confirmed in writing within one month of them occurring.
Payment is by - Monthly / Weekly / Cheque / Cash / Bacs.

Your position is Part Time / Full Time ie ............ hours per week.

Your Hours are ............ am to ............ pm Monday to Friday.

Your Holiday entitlement is ............ days per year including / plus bank holidays.

Your Lunch Break is ..............................................

Your sick pay entitlement is Statutory Sick Pay for 28 weeks plus

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You will work at the Company address shown overleaf and / or at such other of the Company’s places of business as the management may from time to time require.

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The holiday year runs from .................. to .................. .

In the event of termination of employment payment will be made for all unused holiday entitlement less 1/12th of the annual entitlement for each complete calendar month of service remaining.

Where your employment is terminated because of misconduct or where the full contractual notice period is not given, unused accrued holiday pay will not be paid.

All holiday requests must have management approval.

Where the Company closes down for the Summer Holiday fortnight and the Christmas and New Year period, you must keep sufficient annual holiday to cover the period where there are no statutory holidays.

These arrangements will be published as soon as possible each year.

In the event of medically certified absence from work due to sickness or accident you are entitled to the payment shown above.

The Company reserves the right to take disciplinary action against you where it is felt that you are abusing the sick pay scheme.

At present the Company do not operate a pension scheme. You are therefore contracted into the Government Pension Scheme unless you have made your own arrangements.

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Your employment will be subject to the following statutory minimum periods of notice:

After 4 weeks employment – 1 weeks notice
After 2 years employment – 1 week for each year of employment
After 12 years employment - 12 weeks notice

You will be required to give like periods of notice to the Company if you wish to terminate your employment. Notice should be given in writing to your departmental manager. By mutual agreement these periods of notice may be waived.

You are expected to observe all of the Company rules and to behave in a reasonable way towards the Company, other employees and customers etc. Where you do not do so you will render yourself liable to disciplinary action as detailed in the Company Disciplinary Procedure. You should note that the following lists are not exhaustive.

The following are examples of misconduct offences that would render you liable to disciplinary action:

The following are examples of Gross Misconduct offences that would render you liable to summary dismissal. I.e. Dismissal without notice.

• The use of bad language or aggressive behaviour on Company premises or in front of Customers.
• Passing on confidential information which is, or could be, damaging to the Company’s business.
• Deliberately falsifying official Company records.

You must not endanger the health and safety of any other employee whilst at work.

Accident, no matter how slight, must be reported immediately.

You must act wholeheartedly in the interests of the Company at all times.

You must be prepared to undertake reasonable duties other than those for which you have been specifically employed.

Where you drive a Company vehicle you must observe all Company operating procedures such as; regular checks on tyres pressures, fuel, oil, water, lights battery levels securing and safeguarding loads etc. Any defects or problems must be reported immediately.

This procedure is designed to help and encourage you to achieve and maintain standards of conduct, attendance and job performance. The Company Rules, which forms part of this contract, and this procedure applies to all employees. The aim is to ensure consistent and fair treatment for all.

No disciplinary action will be taken against you until the case has been fully investigated.
At every stage in the procedure you will be advised of the nature of the complaint against you and will be given the opportunity to state your case before any decision is made.

At all stages you will have the right to be accompanied by a work colleague.

You will not be dismissed for a first breach of discipline except in the case of Gross Misconduct when the penalty will be dismissal without notice or payment in lieu of notice. It should be noted however that this does not mean that the dismissal is an automatic act. All facts will be considered before any action is taken.

You will have the right to appeal against any disciplinary penalty imposed.

The procedure may be implemented at any stage if your alleged misconduct warrants such action.

Minor faults will be dealt with informally but where the matter is more serious the following procedure will be used:

If conduct or performance does not meet acceptable standards you will normally be given a formal VERBAL WARNING. You will be advised of the reason for the warning, that it is the first stage of the disciplinary procedure and of your right to appeal. A brief note of the verbal warning will be kept but it will be spent after six months, subject to satisfactory performance and conduct.

If the offence is a serious one or if a further offence has occurred, a WRITTEN WARNING will be given to you by the supervisor. This will give details of the complaint, the improvements required and the timescale. It will warn that action under Stage Three will be considered if there is no satisfactory improvement and will be advise of the right of appeal. A Copy of this written notice will be kept by the Supervisor but it will be disregarded after nine months subject to satisfactory conduct and performance. A copy will be given to you.

If there is still a failure to improve and conduct or performance is still unsatisfactory, or if the misconduct is sufficiently serious to warrant only one written warning but insufficiently serious to justify dismissal (in effect both first and final written warning), a FINAL WRITTEN WARNING will normally be given to you. This will give details of the complaint, will warn that dismissal will result if there is no satisfactory improvement and will advise you of the right of appeal. A Copy of this final written warning will be kept by the supervisor but it will normally be spent subject to satisfactory conduct performance. A copy of the final warning will be given to you.

If conduct or performance is still unsatisfactory and you still fail to reach prescribed standards, DISMISSAL will normally result. Only the appropriate Senior Manager can take the decision to dismiss. You will be provided, as soon as reasonably practicable, with written reasons for dismissal, the date on which your employment will terminate and your right of appeal.

The list shown above, provided examples of offences that are normally regarded as gross misconduct. If you are accused of an act of gross misconduct, you may be suspended from work on full pay normally for no more than five working days, while the Company investigates the alleged offence. If, on completion of the investigation and the full disciplinary procedure the Company is satisfied that gross misconduct has occurred the result will normally be summary dismissal without notice or payment in lieu of notice.

If you wish to appeal against any disciplinary action taken against you, you should notify your immediate supervisor either verbally or in writing, within two working days of the action complained of.

Where you have a grievance relating to any aspect of your employment you should contact your immediate supervisor and give full details of your grievance, in confidence, and allowing sufficient time for consideration of all the facts before remedial action can be taken.

All employees will retire at the normal retirement age. This normally means that you will be expected to retire on the first Friday after your birthday. If you are requested to continue working, for whatever reason, and you agree, a new contract of employment will be drawn up following discussion with you.

The company’s normal retirement age for all employees is 65 years.

You have the right to reasonable time off without pay, during normal working hours, where you are obliged to attend for jury service or hold any of the following public positions:

Justices of the peace
Councillors
Members of a health authority
School governor etc

All notes or memoranda relating to any matter within the scope of the business of the Company or any of its dealings or affairs shall be and remain the property of the Company and you shall not, either during your employment or subsequently, disclose, use or permit to be used any such notes or memoranda, otherwise than for the benefit of the Company, and all such notes or memoranda shall be left on the Company’s Premises upon termination of your employment.

Signed for  ...................................................                     Date  ...................................... 
                   Employer

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Signed       ...............................................                          Date ....................................... 
                    Employee

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