If you employ someone to work for you, then it is important to work out at the beginning what the terms of your agreement are. This agreement or employment contract is vital, as it will govern any disputes between you and your employee. It pays to set out the basis of your relationship clearly, as it can help you have a more productive employment relationship, and protect you if things go wrong. In theory you do not need to put your agreement in writing, but this is usually the safest way of proceeding. In any case, the law requires you to provide all employees with a written statement of their employment particulars within 8 weeks of starting work. This can be in a written contract or as a document in its own right.

Written Statement of Initial Employment Particulars

This must contain the following -

	The names of the employer and employee
	Employer's address
	The date of the beginning of the employment
	The date when continuous employment began ( this may not be the same as the beginning of this employment, as it could include earlier employment where a business has changed hands)
	The amount and method of calculating pay
	The intervals at which payment is made
	The hours of work
	Holiday entitlement
	Job title or description
	Place or places of work
	Details of sickness procedure and sick pay
	Details of any pension entitlement
	Period of notice required to end the contract
	If temporary employment - how long for - or if fixed term
	If there are any collective agreements affecting the contract
	Disciplinary rules ( unless small employer)
	Grievance Procedures
	Any details of work abroad if for a period exceeding one month

Contracts of Employment
Written employment contracts contain express terms that govern the relationship between the parties. As well as covering the matters stated above under Initial Employment Particulars, it is usual to insert other clauses relating to matters such as confidentiality, and in some cases, restrictions on what the employee can do when his employment ends. These clauses need to be carefully drafted to protect the employer's business without being an unlawful restriction on the employee's freedom.

As well as express terms, the law will imply other terms in the contract, for example that the employer will pay wages, without making improper deductions, that he will take reasonable care of the employee's safety, and will co-operate with the employee so as not to destroy the relationship of mutual trust between them. In addition the law implies that an employee has a duty to co-operate with the employer, that he will obey reasonable and lawful instructions, take reasonable care and abide by his duty of fidelity. This duty is a duty not to compete with the employer, not to disclose confidential information, not to benefit from the work done for the employer, and not to be dishonest.

Restrictions - The National Minimum Wage and Working Hours
Whilst the parties have a great deal of freedom in relation to the terms of an employment contract, the law sets down minimum rates of pay and controls the number of hours most employees can work. In addition there are special rules about Sunday working. As an employer you must take care to ensure that you do not breach these rules.

Discrimination
You must also take great care to ensure that the terms on which you employ people are not discriminatory. There must be no discrimination on the grounds of race or sex, and there are important rules relating to disability discrimination.