It is rare that the absence of written employment contracts actually matters for employers.
There is ALWAYS a contract between employees and employers in the UK in any event. It is made up of:
- “Invisible” implied terms,
- “Invisible” incorporated terms,
- Any express verbal terms, and
- Any express written terms.
The written terms are therefore only one part. They may perfectly fit with the other parts and protect the employer’s interests and work in which case, they are great.
In many cases, however, given the value of them, they are rushed and do not quite work when they need to. If they attempt to be prescriptive, they risk unnecessarily tying the hands of the employer.
Fortunately, in most cases, they are largely irrelevant in dealing with an employment matter that arises. Keep them simple.
*Image courtesy of Mediamodifier via Unsplash
