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Questions and answers

Does an employee have to have a written contract?

No, an employee does not have to have a written contract. The contract itself can be purely oral

However, an employee must be provided with written terms within two months of starting their employment. (See below)

What information must an employer give to an employee when they start?

By law an employer must give an employee a “statement” of employment. This must take place within 2 months of the employee starting to work for the employer. That statement must include, as a minimum, details of:

  • pay
  • hours of work
  • holiday entitlement
  • sick pay arrangements
  • notice periods
  • information about disciplinary and grievance procedures

If no statement has been given within 2 months, an employee can apply to an Employment Tribunal at any time after the 2 month period, (or within 3 months of termination of the employment) for the tribunal to determine what should have been in the statement.

What are the differences between wrongful and unfair dismissal?

Wrongful dismissal occurs where an employer is in breach of the oral or written terms of a contract of employment and is in connection with or has led to the dismissal (either actual or constructive) of the employee. An example of this would be where the employer either did not give the employee the correct notice period for dismissal or failed to pay the employee the appropriate compensation for the termination of the employment.

Unfair dismissal, on the other hand, is a statutory right which is given to employees who have been employed for at least one year and arises where an employer cannot show a fair reason for the dismissal. Fair reasons for dismissal include:

  • lack of ability
  • misconduct
  • redundancy
  • retirement, or
  • some other substantial reason

Even if the employer can show that one of the above reasons existed, the dismissal may still be unfair, however, if the employer acted unreasonably in dismissing the employee.

Can an employer take action if an employee misbehaves outside of work?

The answer to this depends upon the extent and type of the misbehaviour in question.

If the employees misbehaviour is minor and unlikely to have any impact whatsoever upon the employer or their work then normally the answer would be no, or if he did, it would have to constitute a warning that such behaviour was not regarded as acceptable.

However, if the behaviour is more severe then it might be sufficient to give rise to a some form of disciplinary action. In deciding whether this would be appropriate the employer may have to consider other factors, including:

  • the extent to which the misbehaviour is likely to have an effect on the employee’s work - for example where damage to their personal reputation reduces the credibility within the employer’s market
  • the extent to which the misbehaviour has an effect upon the employer’s reputation
  • the circumstances under which the behaviour occurred.

What is constructive dismissal?

If an employer behaves in such a way that it amounts to a fundamental breach of contract then the employee is entitled to regard himself as, in effect dismissed, and resign from the job. Despite that resignation, the employee may still have a valid claim for unfair and/or wrongful dismissal.

In order to justify taking these steps, however, the employee must consider the contract to be at an end on account of the employers actions and that it was sufficiently significant that it went to the root of the contract.

For more information on these, or any other issues relating to employment law please either phone us on 084 4804 4800, request a free, no-obligation call-back using the form to the right, or email us on advice@employmentlawhelp.co.uk and we will be more than happy to discuss with you the precise needs which you have.