I’ve not been given one and nor’ve most of my colleagues. Never had a letter confirming employment either. Has anyone else been with a company for a while and never had anything “official”?
Is this something to be concerned about?
have never had a written contract of employment
Was at my last places 2 years and never had a contract. Been at current job a couple of months and haven’t been given a contract.
Be interesting to hear peoples replies as I have no idea either…
A ‘Gentleman’s Agreement’ was always good enough at one time, never needed a contract but when one was offered at one place I just refused to sign it. Didn’t make any difference really, companies will still do as they want anyway.
Pete.
A contract doesn’t need to be written down to exist, but it makes life a lot easier if it is.
There’s a law somewhere that states you must be given basic details of your terms & conditions within so many days of starting work.
If you don’t have a written contract, then your terms & conditions are (I think) called ‘implied terms’.
e.g. Boss man says turn up at 7am to start work at the interview, you turn up at 7am to start work for the next 3mths, then Boss man says turn up at 6am to start work.
You’re implied terms are that your normal start time is 7am. Asking you to then start at 6am is a variation of your contract.
windrush:
A ‘Gentleman’s Agreement’ was always good enough at one time, never needed a contract but when one was offered at one place I just refused to sign it. Didn’t make any difference really, companies will still do as they want anyway.Pete.
The employment contract is there for both employee and the company. By refusing to sign one it gives the company free reign to do what they want & if you complain or refuse to do it whether reasonable or unreasonable then they can sack you thus giving you no comeback to launch a legal claim for unfair dismal all because you didn’t sign the contract. Companies can now withdraw the offer of employment to you if you refuse to sign the contract.
I’ve always signed a contract as it has my hourly wage rate on it, how many paid holidays I can take per year etc & it’s legally binding.
SH-07:
The employment contract is there for both employee and the company. By refusing to sign one it gives the company free reign to do what they want & if you complain or refuse to do it whether reasonable or unreasonable then they can sack you thus giving you no comeback to launch a legal claim for unfair dismal all because you didn’t sign the contract. Companies can now withdraw the offer of employment to you if you refuse to sign the contract.I’ve always signed a contract as it has my hourly wage rate on it, how many paid holidays I can take per year etc & it’s legally binding.
You’re not just wrong, you are horribly wrong.
Chas:
SH-07:
The employment contract is there for both employee and the company. By refusing to sign one it gives the company free reign to do what they want & if you complain or refuse to do it whether reasonable or unreasonable then they can sack you thus giving you no comeback to launch a legal claim for unfair dismal all because you didn’t sign the contract. Companies can now withdraw the offer of employment to you if you refuse to sign the contract.I’ve always signed a contract as it has my hourly wage rate on it, how many paid holidays I can take per year etc & it’s legally binding.
You’re not just wrong, you are horribly wrong.
Define how?
As I understand it, a contract of employment should be given within a few weeks of starting. It should clearly state, your hours of work, i.e your start time is between 4am - 7am etc and your rate of pay. Mine also states my holiday entitlement, grievance procedure and disciplinary procedure.
Whether you sign it or not is irrespective, if you don’t then it is taken that you agree to the contract, and as such you are now under contract. If you don’t agree with something and don’t sign it, then you should speak to your HR or TM and clarify it.
I can only pass on the info I was given by the last 3 HR depts. where I’ve worked
SH-07:
The employment contract is there for both employee and the company. By refusing to sign one it gives the company free reign to do what they want & if you complain or refuse to do it whether reasonable or unreasonable then they can sack you thus giving you no comeback to launch a legal claim for unfair dismal all because you didn’t sign the contract. Companies can now withdraw the offer of employment to you if you refuse to sign the contract.I’ve always signed a contract as it has my hourly wage rate on it, how many paid holidays I can take per year etc & it’s legally binding.
SH-07:
Define how?
Well for a start, refusing to sign one does not give a company free reign to do what they want.
I could go on but I won’t, you are obviously a throwaway sock & not worthy.
Chas:
SH-07:
The employment contract is there for both employee and the company. By refusing to sign one it gives the company free reign to do what they want & if you complain or refuse to do it whether reasonable or unreasonable then they can sack you thus giving you no comeback to launch a legal claim for unfair dismal all because you didn’t sign the contract. Companies can now withdraw the offer of employment to you if you refuse to sign the contract.I’ve always signed a contract as it has my hourly wage rate on it, how many paid holidays I can take per year etc & it’s legally binding.
SH-07:
Define how?Well for a start, refusing to sign one does not give a company free reign to do what they want.
I could go on but I won’t, you are obviously a throwaway sock & not worthy.
Indeed you are covered by a standard agreement after a certain period of time, as per employment law. However a statement of particulars within 8 weeks of commencement should be given.
Muckaway:
I’ve not been given one and nor’ve most of my colleagues. Never had a letter confirming employment either. Has anyone else been with a company for a while and never had anything “official”?
Is this something to be concerned about?
Yes it is, under section 1 and 2 of the employment rights act 1996 (era96) employees have the right to a written statement of particulars of their employment. This must be given no later than 8 weeks after the employment begins and must include varied particulars of the job. The right to a written statement does not apply only to new employees. Existing employees can ask for a statement of their particulars if they do not have one.
If the employer does not provide a written statement, the employee can refer the matter to a tribunal at any time, but remember tribunal costs will be £160 for an issue fee then followed by a hearing fee of £230. HTH
If you don’t have a contract with defined terms and conditions of employment, then you don’t actually have a job. 
You’re employed on a zero hours basis, just like on agency. You can be stood down without pay at any time.
Do these sort of firms which don’t bother with getting their employees to sign a contract, actually bother with risk assessments and safe systems of work also?
windrush:
Didn’t make any difference really, companies will still do as they want anyway.Pete.
Which is when a contract comes into play. You take them to tribunal and get awarded a ton of money.
Chas:
You’re not just wrong, you are horribly wrong.
Without a contract then the only things that count are statutory such as holiday pay and notice periods. So pretty much other than that they can demand you work any hours that are legal, can vary pay and terms at will.
And you’ll find that as far as the law is concerned, if you don’t sign a contract you’ve made yourself redundant and if you continue to work you’re deemed to have accepted the new terms.
The contracts are wholly legally binding in both directions unless certain terms contradict statutory rights in which case those rights take precedence.
Sharon Shoesmith who was in charge of Haringey Childrens Services at the time of the Baby P scandal got awarded a potential £600,000 payout this week by a high court because the way she was sacked was a breach of her contract of employment.
When I returned to work in 2001 after suffering a recurrence of a spinal injury, the parcel company I was working for as a night trunker had a clause put in my contract which forbid me from doing any lifting. When I was at my depot and was asked to help unload the parcels I was able to politely refuse and point the supervisor to the clause in my employment contract.
Employment contracts are very important and anyone who thinks they’re not is quite frankly an idiot.
I asked about contracts because a colleague left yesterday; We were put on the same run which was a “flatout to get it all done” day on top of which I had a phonecall from TM to tell the leaving guy we then had to go out of our way so he could return his lorry and get his card scanned, then I’d drive him back to our depot. I didn’t like the fact I had the phonecall (why when it wasn’t me leaving, should I get involved?)
Anyhow said driver rang offce and said we couldn’t make it and was told he wouldn’t get a reference etc etc if he didn’t. This got us talking at break time how we and others hadn’t got contract, letter of employment, disciplinary procedures, general rules etc.
Said colleague has assumed all he needed to give is a weeks notice but is now worried some of his pay may be withheld. .
His pay can’t be withheld regardless of what is in a contract or whether he signed one because that is illegal however he doesn’t have any right to be paid before the next pay day.
There is also no legal right to a reference and also an employer can legally give a bad one as long as what is stated is factually correct.
As to the phone call, why shouldn’t you get one? The employer required something to be done. The fact it involves transporting a leaving driver is completely irrelevant.
Conor:
His pay can’t be withheld regardless of what is in a contract or whether he signed one because that is illegal however he doesn’t have any right to be paid before the next pay day.There is also no legal right to a reference and also an employer can legally give a bad one as long as what is stated is factually correct.
As to the phone call, why shouldn’t you get one? The employer required something to be done. The fact it involves transporting a leaving driver is completely irrelevant.
You are so wrong an employer can’t give a bad reference it is against the law he can refuse to give a reference. And anybody is entitled to a statement of terms from the employer they are legally bound to give the employee one.
Conor:
As to the phone call, why shouldn’t you get one? The employer required something to be done. The fact it involves transporting a leaving driver is completely irrelevant.
Why not ring the driver concerned? Why tell me to tell him? Sounds childish. Before anyone says “perhaps he had no signal” I’ll point out he was following me.