Legal Service Advices Reading Employment Contracts Thoroughly
Which? Legal Service has asked employees across
According to the findings of the survey, more than five million Britons start work without reading the employment contracts fully. The survey took into consideration more than 4000 employees. It was found that more than 25% of the group just had a quick scan through the contents of the employment contract. 6% of the group said that they had not even read the contract.
It was also found that about 9% of the group did not even get their employment contracts until six months after they had commenced work. On an average, just three of ten employees had their contracts in hand before joining the workforce. On the whole, about two million members of the British workforce do not have a formal work contract.
The Which? consumer group’s CEO, Peter Vicary-Smith, said that this trend was alarming. Many employees are not reading the contracts before starting work which could lead to serious issues later on. These persons are not really aware of what the terms are that they have agreed to.
He advised employees to peruse the contents of their employment contract in detail to understand salary, notice period, lay off terms and leave entitlement accurately. They must endure that the contract outlines all the terms discussed during the interview.
In the UK, employers must give all employees a written notice of specific employment terms. The version 5 of Employment Contract and Management Guide has been brought out by Workplace Law recently to guide employers in making sure they meet the legal requirements in this respect. By doing so, both employers and employees benefit from having a clear outline of what has been agreed upon. A 23 page guide is also included here which has guidance notes about the policy and legal alternatives for employers.
Employers can keep themselves up to date with employment relations developments with an accredited CIPD Qualification by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Workplace Law offer CIPD Distance Learning, a unique web-based training programme, which will help understand how employment practice works within a personnel department, and to gain a broad grasp of employment law so organisation’s can set their own policies and procedures in context.
