Employment Contracts: What Must Be Included by Law?

21 June 2026 · Updated 20 October 2026 · Officium Business Services

Every employer in the UK is legally required to provide employees with a written statement of their employment terms. Yet employment contracts remain one of the most common areas where small businesses fall short — issuing contracts that are too vague, too late or not at all. With the Employment Rights Act 2025 introducing new requirements and increasing the consequences of getting it wrong, now is the time to make sure your contracts are watertight. Here is what you need to know.

Does an employment contract have to be in writing?

Technically, an employment contract can exist without anything being written down — a verbal agreement or even conduct alone can create a binding contract. However, the law requires employers to provide employees and workers with a Written Statement of Employment Particulars on or before their first day of employment. This is not optional. If an employee wins another tribunal claim against you and you never gave them a written statement, the tribunal must normally add two to four weeks’ pay to the award.

Many small businesses assume an offer letter is enough. It is not. A written statement must meet specific statutory requirements, and simply confirming a job title and salary falls well short of what the law demands.

What must be included by law?

The written statement must contain the following particulars:

• The names of the employer and employee.
• The start date of employment and, where relevant, the date continuous employment began.
• Pay — the rate or method of calculating pay, and how often it will be paid (weekly, monthly and so on).
• Working hours — the days of the week the employee is required to work and whether hours or days may vary.
• Holiday entitlement — the amount of paid annual leave, including public holidays, and the holiday pay rate.
• Sick leave and sick pay — both statutory and any contractual sick pay arrangements.
• Notice periods — the notice the employee must give and the notice the employer must give to end the employment.
• Job title or a brief description of the work.
• Place of work — the address where the employee will mainly work, or a statement that they will work at various locations.
• Whether the job is permanent or fixed-term — and if fixed-term, the expected end date.
• Probationary period — if applicable, its length and the conditions that apply during it.
• Any other paid leave — such as maternity, paternity or parental leave provisions.
• Pension arrangements — details of any workplace pension scheme and auto-enrolment obligations.
• Collective agreements — any that directly affect the terms and conditions of employment.

Additional information — including disciplinary and grievance procedures and any training requirements — must also be provided, though some of this can be referenced in a staff handbook or separate policy documents rather than included in the contract itself.

What has changed under the Employment Rights Act 2025?

The Employment Rights Act 2025 has introduced several changes that directly affect employment contracts, with the first wave in force from April 2026:

• Day-one rights to family leave — paternity leave and unpaid parental leave became day-one rights from 6 April 2026, so contracts and family leave policies should no longer refer to qualifying service for them.
• Statutory Sick Pay from day one — from 6 April 2026 SSP is payable from the first day of sickness, with no lower earnings limit. Sick pay clauses that mention waiting days need updating.
• Zero-hours contract reforms (expected 2027) — employers will have to offer guaranteed-hours contracts to zero-hours and low-hours workers who have worked regular hours over a reference period. The start date has not yet been confirmed.
• Flexible working (expected 2027) — employees have been able to request flexible working from day one since April 2024, and you must answer within two months. The Act will add a test that any refusal is reasonable.
• Unfair dismissal qualifying period reducing — the two-year qualifying period for unfair dismissal protection is expected to reduce to six months from January 2027, so probationary clauses and dismissal procedures will need reviewing ahead of that change.

Types of employment contract

It is important to use the right type of contract for each working arrangement. The main types are:

• Permanent full-time — the most common type, with an ongoing employment relationship and no fixed end date. Full statutory rights apply from day one.
• Permanent part-time — the same as full-time but with fewer hours. Part-time workers must not be treated less favourably than comparable full-time employees.
• Fixed-term — employment for a specified period or task. When a fixed-term contract ends without renewal, this is a dismissal in law. Employees with two or more years’ continuous service may be entitled to a redundancy payment.
• Zero-hours — no guaranteed minimum hours; the worker is paid only for hours worked. The Employment Rights Act 2025 will require employers to offer guaranteed-hours contracts to zero-hours workers who have worked regular hours during a reference period, expected from 2027.
• Worker agreements — for people who are not employees but are not genuinely self-employed either. Workers have fewer rights than employees but are still entitled to NMW, holiday pay and pension auto-enrolment.

Clauses every employer should consider

Beyond the statutory minimum, well-drafted contracts should consider the following clauses to protect the business:

• Confidentiality — protecting sensitive business information, client lists and trade secrets during and after employment.
• Restrictive covenants — preventing employees from joining a direct competitor or poaching clients or colleagues for a defined period after leaving. These must be reasonable in scope and duration to be enforceable.
• Intellectual property — confirming that work, inventions or materials created during employment belong to the employer.
• Flexibility — allowing reasonable changes to duties, location or hours with appropriate notice, reducing the risk of a breach of contract claim when business needs change.
• Garden leave — allowing the employer to place a leaver on paid leave during their notice period, particularly useful in client-facing or sensitive roles.
• Hybrid and remote working — with flexible working now a day-one right, contracts should set out expectations for home and office working clearly.

When should you review your contracts?

Employment law does not stand still. If your contracts have not been reviewed since before April 2020 — when the written statement rules were last significantly updated — they are almost certainly out of date. With the first Employment Rights Act 2025 changes now in force, contracts should be reviewed to reflect:

• The day-one written statement requirements (in force since April 2020).
• Updated NMW rates from April 2026.
• Day-one SSP and family leave rights.
• The right to request flexible working from day one.
• Zero-hours contract obligations where relevant, once they start.
• The forthcoming reduction in the unfair dismissal qualifying period from January 2027.

• Employment Rights Act 2025
• Employment contracts
• Employment law changes
• Best practice for employers