Casual employment contract

About this employee agreement

This casual employment contract covers all legal requirements for information to be given to an employee.

The Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018 has amended the Organisation and Working Time Act 1997 by removing the phrase "zero hours practice". An employer no longer is able to engage an employee on a contract where the stated contracted hours are zero. This contract complies with that law.

In the agreement you provide the employee with a band of hours, with an option to call him or her as necessary.

The document also acts as a written statement of terms of the agreement, which, provided you have the employee sign it within 5 days of starting, allows you to comply with the requirement to provide contractual information.

The document is a superb framework for fair and full protection of the employer and compliance with legal and organisational requirements. Use of plain English makes editing easy and allows it to be understood by all parties.

It is similar to our standard employment contract - just as comprehensive - but edited for application to casual work. It provides pro-rata holidays and sickness benefits.

Specifics for different jobs, such as duties and training provision, can be added easily if required, either within the existing text, or by reference to a job description. It is strong on protection of the employer's intellectual property and confidential information.

When to use this casual work contract

• for any new casual employee
• to replace your existing contracts, which may be out of date
• for any level of employee, though most appropriate to junior and mid-level staff
• for organisations of any type: companies, charities, trusts, partnerships, governmental organisations and others

Features and contents

• Casual work contract complying with current law
• All standard terms for a principal statement
• Compliant with Organisation of Working Time Act 1997,  Organisation of Working Time (Records)(Prescribed Form and Exemptions) Regulations 2001, Sick Leave Act 2022 and the European Union (Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions) Regulations 2022;
• Structured so as to minimise the administrative burden of legal compliance

The casual work contract includes the following paragraphs:

• Start and continuity
• Probationary period (also called trial period)
• Job title and description
• Training
• Place of work
• Hours of work
• Salary and expenses
• Leave for holidays and other reasons
• Sickness and sick pay
• Pension (including the new auto-enrolment pension rules – MyFutureFund);
• Other business and employment
• No competition
• Confidentiality
• Intellectual property
• Collective agreements
• Staff handbook and company policies
• Disciplinary and grievance procedures
• Termination
• Procedure after termination
• Summary termination
• Reconstruction or amalgamation
• Data protection
• Severance and invalidity

Practicalities

A contract, written or verbal is made as soon as the employee accepts a job offer. So as to minimise future misunderstandings, we recommend providing a written contract with the offer letter, so that the employee can return an acceptance letter with a signed copy of the contract.

The employer must give basic information to all employees within 5 days of starting a job. This is known as a “written statement of terms of employment”. This information includes names and addresses of both employer and employee, place of work, duration of the contract, the rate of pay and pay reference period, as well as the working hours and week, job title, probationary period etc . Other than these core terms, the employer has a legal obligation to provide the employee with the remaining terms within one month of starting a job such as an employee’s remuneration, overtime pay, entitlement to annual leave and sick leave, pension and a reasonable notice period of termination. This contract includes all the necessary information to act as a written statement so that you don’t need to provide this information separately in a letter or another document.

Other employment policies and procedures not within the written statement (such as data protection) could be included in the employment contract. However, especially when you have many casual workers, changing each employee’s contract of employment (and ensuring consistency between employees) every time a new law changes can be time consuming and difficult. It is usual, therefore, to place all procedures and policies common to all staff in an employee handbook and refer to the handbook in the casual employment contract. This is the approach Net Lawman recommends.