A failure to provide a statement, or where a statement is provided which does not contain the required information, could lead to the employee making a reference to an employment tribunal to determine their terms of employment. Additionally, an employee may receive compensation for a failure to be provided a statement where they win an alternative claim at the employment tribunal.
Statements of employment particulars are also known as statements of main terms, SMTs or can be called employment contracts.
There are future changes to the statutory scheme which are due to take effect from 6 April 2020. These include extending the right to receive a statement to all workers, increasing the mandatory information and making this a day-one right.
REQUIRED INFORMATION
Section 1 and 2 of the Employment Rights Act sets out the information which is legally required to be included within the statement. The information to be provided includes:
- the employee and employer name
- the start date of employment
- the date the employee’s continuous employment started
- the method, rate or scale in place for remuneration calculations
- the intervals for payment
- terms and conditions relating to working hours such as normal working hours
- holiday entitlement and details relating to public holidays and holiday pay
- sick pay and incapacity for work provisions
- details of pensions and pension schemes
- the duration of notice to be given to, or provided by, the employee to terminate employment
- job title or description of the role
- the expected duration of non-permanent work or the date upon which fixed-term work will end
- the normal place of work or address details of the employer
- details of any collective agreements which directly affect the terms and conditions of the individual
- rules and procedures relating to disciplinary (or referring to a separate accessible document where these are located) and
- identifying the person to whom to raise a grievance or appeal against a disciplinary decision.
