Contracts of Employment

Contract of Employment

The content of employment contracts where for example confidential information or business secrets need to be protected is of paramount importance to many businesses.

We can advise and draft for you those relevant terms which are necessary to protect the legitimate interests of the business whether such contracts are required in one contract or for a certain category of workforce.

We can advise on how protection of legitimate business interests may be achieved and this may include specific advice in areas where intellectual property, confidentiality and copyright issues may be relevant.

We individually tailor the needs of your business when putting together your employment contracts, for example we can advise on claw back situations when your company is paying out to train your employees.

We can update your existing contracts when new legislation comes into force, for example the Smoking Regulations that banned smoking from most company vehicles and all business premises. 

We can advise on e-mail, internet and telecommunication policies and what constitutes a misconduct and gross misconduct offence.

We can offer advice for example on the preparation of interview policy and procedures to ensure you don’t fall foul of the law.

We undertake a full range of contractual drafting

We undertake a full range of contractual drafting from S.1 Statements, through to Employment Contracts, Handbooks, Health & Safety policy and procedures.  We can revise, alter or amend existing company documents or provide you with brand new and individually tailored specialised employment Contracts.

Executives

At the outset of commencement of employment it is vital for the employee to ensure that the contract of employment is specifically tailored and completely correct for that individual.  Issues such as length of contract, fixed term or renewable contracts, notice period, bonus structures and payout of bonuses, post termination restrictions should all be negotiated and resolved prior to the signing of such contracts. Executive employment issues generally require specialist input particularly in times of corporate reorganisation and restructuring and future redundancies.

Mutual Obligation Contracts and Service Occupancy Agreements

We draft and have successfully litigated on Mutual Obligation contracts in unfair dismissal circumstances. These types of contracts might be used when you have a husband and wife team, for example employed as an estate manager and domestic helper. 

We have advised on the drafting of and the rights under Service Occupancy Agreements. These are typically used where a person’s occupation depends on their position continuing within an organisation, for example a pub, a school or an institution.

Working Time Regulations and Zero Hour and Casual Contracts

Legislation exists to protect the employee. We will advise you on the law as applicable to your business and we will draft specialised contracts of employment for you dealing with the often tricky areas, such as The Working Time Regulations or Casual or Zero hour contracts where work is scarce or cannot be guaranteed. All these factors need careful consideration and precise drafting.

We will keep you up to date with the latest legislation dealing with, for example, holiday entitlement, prevention of less favourable treatment for part time workers, discriminatory practices in relation to sex and gender.