Employment contract

About this employment contract

This employment contract covers all legal requirements for information to be given to an employee. It is a carefully considered framework for fair and full protection of the employer and compliance with organisational requirements. Use of plain English makes editing easy and allows it to be understood by all parties.

The agreement includes paragraphs that set out that the employee will be required to live on the premises in order to perform the job. Such service occupancy also requires a residential licence to occupy the premises, a service occupancy agreement, that is not included with this employment contract. As far as this contract is concerned, it does not matter whether the employee will occupy a detached house or a single room with facilities shared with other staff.

The size or business of the employer organisation is not important, nor is the position of the employee. This contract is equally suitable for care home or hotel staff where the employer is a company as it is for a live-in nanny, where the employer is an individual.

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. In this "information age", all Net Lawman employment contracts are very strong on protection of the employer's secrets and confidential information.

Note: part time or casual employees or trainees have exactly the same rights as full timers. This employment contract is flexible to cover your precise requirements. Provided there are no changes to the law, you can reuse this employment contract for all types of employees.

When to use this employment contract

• for any new employee;
• to replace your existing contracts which may be out of date;
• the employee may be permanently employed (full or part-time) or temporary;
• for organisations of any type: companies, charities, trusts, partnerships, governmental organisations and others

Employment contract features and contents

• Standard employment contract complying with current law;
• Statutory requirement of the employment law;
• Strong on protection of employer's confidential information;
• Specifics for different jobs, such as duties and training requirements, can be added easily - either within the text, or by reference to a job description;
• Written for positions that require the employee to live on the business property;
• Structured so as to minimise the administrative burden of legal compliance.

Compliance with Irish employment law

• The Terms of Employment (Information) Acts 1994 and 2001;
• Organisation of Working Time Act 1997
• Organisation of Working Time (Records)(Prescribed Form and Exemptions) Regulations 2001
• Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2018
• Sick Leave Act 2022
• The European Union (Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions) Regulations 2022 

The contract of employment 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;
• 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 this employment contract covers

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 employment 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 the employee’s remuneration, overtime pay, entitlement to annual leave and sick leave, pension and a reasonable notice period of termination. This employment 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 of terms and conditions of employment (such as data protection) could be included in the employment contract. However, especially when you have many employees, 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 employment contract. This is the approach Net Lawman recommends.