A UK employment contract template has to do one legal job before anything else: it must contain the written statement of employment particulars required by section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Most of those particulars must be in a single document given no later than the first day of work. Pensions, collective agreements, the employer's training entitlement and the disciplinary and grievance note can follow within two months. The template below follows the statutory list, so a contract built from it also works as the written statement.
Contract versus written statement
The two are not the same thing. A contract exists as soon as someone accepts a job offer, and gov.uk notes it "does not have to be written down". The written statement is a separate statutory duty. It applies to workers as well as employees, and gov.uk describes it as a document that "is not an employment contract". In practice most employers combine the two, which is efficient, provided every required heading is covered.
The written statement has two layers:
- Principal statement. Given on or before day one, in a single document;
- Wider written statement. Pensions, collective agreements, any training entitlement provided by the employer and the note on disciplinary and grievance procedures, which may be given in instalments but must be provided within two months of the start of employment.
Some items may be cross-referred to another document the worker can reasonably access, such as a staff handbook on the intranet. Sick pay, other paid leave, pensions and the training entitlement can be dealt with this way, and notice can be referred to the law or a collective agreement.
Employment contract template: the clause structure
Use this as the skeleton. Items 1 to 16 are the day-one particulars from section 1(3) and (4), except the general training entitlement in item 15, which may follow within two months. If a heading does not apply, section 2(1) requires the statement to say so, for example "There is no probationary period".
- Parties. Full legal name of the employer and the employee or worker;
- Start date. The date employment begins and, for employees, the date continuous employment began if earlier service with a previous employer counts;
- Job title. The title or a brief description of the work;
- Pay. The rate or scale, or the method of calculating it;
- Pay intervals. Weekly, monthly or other;
- Hours and days. Normal working hours, the days of the week to be worked, and whether and how hours or days may vary;
- Holidays. Entitlement, including public holidays and holiday pay, set out precisely enough to calculate accrued holiday pay on termination;
- Sickness. Terms on incapacity for work, including any sick pay;
- Other paid leave. For example, family leave pay above the statutory minimum;
- Other benefits. Anything not covered elsewhere, such as private medical cover;
- Notice. The notice each side must give;
- Duration. If the role is not permanent, how long it is expected to last, or the end date of a fixed term;
- Probation. Any probationary period, its conditions and its length;
- Place of work. The workplace, or an indication that the worker will work at various places, plus the employer's address;
- Training. Any training entitlement, any training the worker must complete, and any required training the employer will not pay for;
- Work abroad. If the worker must work outside the UK for more than one month: the period, the currency of pay, any extra pay or benefits, and the terms for returning;
- Pensions. Terms relating to pensions and pension schemes (may follow within two months);
- Collective agreements. Any that directly affect the terms, and who made them if the employer is not a party (may follow within two months);
- Disciplinary and grievance. The note required by section 3 (may follow within two months).
Most templates then add terms that are not statutory but protect the business: confidentiality, intellectual property, data protection, deductions from pay, garden leave and, where justified, post-termination restrictions.
Statutory minimums the template must not undercut
A contract can be more generous than the law but not less. The figures to check when filling in the template for 2026/27 are:
| Term | Statutory floor |
|---|---|
| Pay, age 21 and over | £12.71 an hour (National Living Wage, from April 2026) |
| Pay, age 18 to 20 | £10.85 an hour |
| Pay, under 18 and apprentice rate | £8.00 an hour |
| Annual leave | 5.6 weeks, capped at 28 days for those working more than five days a week |
| Sick pay | Statutory Sick Pay of £123.25 a week, or 80% of normal weekly earnings if lower, for up to 28 weeks |
| Employer's notice | One week after one month's service; one week per complete year from two years; 12 weeks after 12 years |
| Employee's notice | At least one week after one month's service |
A clause giving less notice than section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 does not reduce the statutory minimum. The apprentice rate applies to apprentices under 19, or aged 19 and over in the first year of the apprenticeship.
Worked example: filling in the pay and hours clauses
A café hires a 22-year-old as a barista on 24 hours a week, Thursday to Saturday, paid monthly. The template should state the hourly rate (at least £12.71), monthly payment in arrears, eight hours on each of those three days, and whether the rota can move shifts to other days and with how much notice. For holiday, 5.6 weeks of a three-day week is 16.8 days. Whether bank holidays are inside or on top of that figure needs to be written down, as section 1 requires the entitlement to be precise enough to calculate final holiday pay.
Changes, late statements and penalties
When a particular changes, the employer must notify the worker in writing; gov.uk says this must be done within one month of the change. A worker who has not had a correct statement can ask an employment tribunal to decide what it should have said.
The financial risk comes through other claims. Under section 38 of the Employment Act 2002, if a tribunal makes an award on a qualifying claim, such as unauthorised deductions or unfair dismissal, and the employer was in breach of the written statement duty, the tribunal must add two weeks' pay and may instead add four weeks' pay if it considers that just and equitable, subject to the statutory cap on a week's pay and unless exceptional circumstances make an award unjust.
Practical points before you issue it
- Payroll first. Check the pay, intervals and benefits clauses match what payroll will actually run, including salary sacrifice and benefits in kind that need reporting on a P11D;
- Workers as well as employees. Casual and zero-hours workers are also entitled to a written statement from day one;
- Keep the handbook in step. If sick pay or other leave is cross-referred to a handbook, the handbook must be reasonably accessible and kept current;
- Signed copy. Keep a signed copy, and the version history, with the personnel file.
Sources: Employment Rights Act 1996, section 1, section 2 and section 86; Employment Act 2002, section 38; gov.uk: Employment contracts; gov.uk: National Minimum Wage rates; gov.uk: Holiday entitlement; gov.uk: Statutory Sick Pay. Related guides: National Minimum Wage 2026, what is holiday pay and Statutory Sick Pay.
Once the contract is signed, the pay terms have to be run correctly through payroll. Acumon's outsourced payroll and employment tax teams can set up new starters and check that benefits and pay terms are treated correctly for tax.