Contracts of Employment and Staff Handbooks

Employment law, Newbury, Berkshire.

Why do I need to provide a written contract?

Contracts of employment are the agreements made between an employer and the employee which govern their relationship and set out the terms of the working relationship.

First of all, because it’s the law.  Secondly, it is because it provides a roadmap as to how the employment relationship will work. And thirdly, because a well drafted employment contract can protect an employer.

A staff handbook contains policies and procedures such as holiday policy, sick pay notification process, disciplinary and grievance procedures and data protection policy and many more.

You can buy contracts and handbooks off the shelf, but one size really does not fit all. A contract for a multinational car manufacturer will not be right for a medium size tech business or a small recruitment company. We can put together the right contract and handbook for your organisation.

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Well drafted legal contracts and policies are the foundation of a successful business. As well as ensuring the company is properly protected, clear and concise documentation leads to happy employees who are aware of their rights and your expectations of them.

We will ensure your contracts allow you to do all of the following things more easily:

  • Vary an employee’s place or hours of work
  • Restrict an employee’s activities after their employment has ended
  • Recover money from an employee where they have caused damage through misconduct or negligence;
  • Give an employee notice in a variety of ways.

We will also ensure you have a suite of employment policies where employees can find out their rights in connection with:

  • Maternity leave and shared parental leave;
  • Equal treatment in the workplace;
  • Sickness absence;
  • Grievance and disciplinary processes.

We will also advise you how to introduce new contracts and how to enforce contractual changes. We will also ensure these contracts and policies are regularly reviewed and updated where necessary. After all there is little point in having policies and procedures that are out of date and do not comply with the most recent legal developments.

Recent Work

Senior Executives Contracts

Drafting senior executives contracts of employment with detail restrictive covenants, preventing them taking their expertise to a competitor for 9 months after they leave.

Confidentiality & IT Security Handbook

A handbook for a banking software company which wanted to emphasise confidentiality and IT security

Contracts for Hotel

Contracts and a new handbook for a hotel chain, with 3 different levels of contract for employees, from temporary part time to the Chief Executive.

Simon and his team are excellent at providing advice and support on employment matters. Of course they know the law, but they also provide their advice in a practical and commercial manner a…

Robert Holland
Partner, James Cowper Kreston

Simon is a quite brilliant commercial employment lawyer. He advises on what to do and how to do it - not on the law. He must know the law too, because he has won every case that he has taken…

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JLL
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If you are looking for employment law advice for employers we can help. 

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