I have just opened up a small business, with two full time and one part time staff. Do I need written contracts or are verbal contracts sufficient?

David McCarroll.

At the very minimum, you are obliged to furnish all of your employees with a written statement setting out the terms and conditions of their employment. This must be furnished within two months of their commencement. Thereafter, you risk having a complaint being made to a Rights Commissioner who can award up to four weeks' pay to a complainant.

What terms must I include?

The basic terms of the employment relationship must be set out, including the employer/employee details, place of work, job title, commencement date and type of contract (part time/full time/fixed term etc). Most importantly, the rate and method of pay and details regarding hours of work, overtime, holidays, pension arrangements, if any, and notice periods must be included. You must also set out details of any other paid leave offered by the company. If you operate in a sector where a collective agreement has been put in place, like the construction industry, reference should be made to such agreements.

Crucially, your part time employee must not be treated less favourably than any comparable full time employee.

What about terms regarding sick pay?

You do need to set out the position with regard to incapacity due to sickness/injury but there is no actual statutory obligation to pay sick leave. If you do decide to offer such a benefit, you should clarify the conditions/limitations.

What if they refuse to sign the statement?

It is not strictly necessary for your employees to sign the statement, your only obligation is to furnish terms of employment. Obviously, the more significant the role the more important it would be to enter into a more detailed contract of employment, which both parties would sign. This, of course, greatly reduces the possibilities for misunderstanding between the parties.

Is there anything else I need to include?

It is vital that reference is made to your Grievance and Disciplinary Procedure and your Bullying & Harassment Prevention Procedure. You are obliged to produce a Safety Statement upon the carrying out of a risk assessment. That assessment must address the risk of bullying and harassment and thus you should consult an employment lawyer in relation to the proper drafting of these procedures.

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Phone: 091-594777

Comments (0) »

Show/Hide comment form

Name

Email

Title

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment