Guide 5 min read
1. Overview
Employers are required to provide all workers and employees, including those on casual, zero-hours, and fixed-term contracts, with a written statement of the key terms and conditions of their employment.
This requirement is set out in sections 1–7B of the Employment Rights Act 1996. It is a day one right, meaning the written statement must be issued at the start of employment.
Certain limited information can be provided later, but no later than two months after the employee or worker begins employment.
Where all the necessary details are available, including the key terms, limited information, and any non-contractual information, an employer can issue a Contract of Employment in place of the Written Statement of Particulars, this must be issued before the start date. Doing so removes the need to issue or update documents later and helps reduce administrative tasks.
2. What are the Key Terms?
Employers must provide the following information: this must be in a single principle document by the time the employee or worker commences employment.
- · Employers name
- · Employee/Worker’s name
- · Start date, where this is for an employee, you must also state the date that the continuous employment commences
- · For Fixed Term or Temporary, expected length or the date the fixed term ends
- · Probationary Period and any conditions/duties
- · Job Title or brief description of the job, (ideally you should have a separate job description)
- · Place of Work, if there is no place of work this must be stipulated and the employers address noted.
- · Pay Rate, making clear if this is hourly, annual, full time equivalent etc
- · Pay date, i.e.. Weekly, monthly, set date each month, last working day etc
- · Terms relating to hours of work and any provision relating to normal hours, this should include days of the week required to work and if/how the working hours/days my be varied and how this will be determined.
- · Terms relating to holiday, whether this includes bank holidays, accrued holiday and accrued holiday pay on termination, this must be detailed to allow calculations to be made.
- · Terms relating to any other benefits provided
- · Terms relating to sick/injury leave and sick pay
- · Terms relating to any other paid leave
- · Terms relating to notice
- · Terms relating to working abroad where they have to work abroad for longer than one month, this must include the duration that they will work outside the UK, the currency of remuneration whilst abroad and any other remuneration and/or benefits relating to the employee or worker’s return
- · Mandatory training that an employee or worker must complete, this should include any training that the employer will not bear the cost
3. What terms can be provided in instalments / later but within 2 months even if their employment ends before
- · Terms relating to pension schemes
- · Any collective agreements affecting the contract
- · Terms relating to training that the employer will provide
- · Disciplinary rules that are applicable or signposting to and/or providing them with the relevant policy and procedure
- · Grievance and how to raise concerns, signposting to and/or providing them to the relevant policy and procedure
If the Written Particulars are the only document issued, i.e no contract of employment issued employers should consider adding the following additional information to the key terms above:
- · Address of employer
- · Address of employee or worker
- · Clause outlining
o Confidentiality
o Outside business interests
o Data Protection
Further information
Please note that written particulars are simply evidence of the employers’ view of the terms and are not the contract of employment. A contract is made and terms fixed when the employer and the employee/worker reached their agreement on employment.
As written particulars serve as evidence of the terms of the employment contract, there is an assumption that any item included in them is intended to be contractual unless stated otherwise.
If an item is not intended to be contractual, this should be made explicit, e.g., by stating “this is not legally binding” or “this does not form part of your contract of employment”.
This distinction is particularly important in relation to disciplinary and grievance procedures, which, if not clearly marked as non-contractual, can easily be treated as legally binding.
Where there is a conflict between terms contained within a Contract of Employment and Written Statement of Particulars those within the Contract will prevail.
Under the proposed changes in the Employment Rights Bill there will be a requirement for employers to provide their employees and workers with a written statement confirming their right to join a trade union. This should be provided at the same time as the written particulars (at start of employment) and at regular intervals. This information is correct as at September 2025 and is subject to the Employment Rights Bill becoming law.
For more information on the Employment Rights Bill 2025 please visit the governments factsheet here.