Contracts of Employment

A contract of employment, like any other contract, is a legal document which sets out the employment relationship between the employer and the employee. The Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 requires “terms and conditions of employment” to be provided to employees and sets out a number of specific terms that must be included in the document including business name, employee’s name, job title, job description and dates of employment, pay, hours of work, holiday entitlement, place of work and notice periods, details of any pension and any grievance or disciplinary procedures which exist within the organisation.

A contract of employment often contains clauses or terms in addition to those required by law.

An employer must provide a written statement of the terms and conditions within two months of the commencement of employment.