Contracts

This is because the employee's agreement to work for the employer, and the employer's agreement to pay the employee forms a contract.

A contract gives both an employee and an employer certain rights and obligations. The most common examples are that an employee will have a right to be paid for the work that s/he does and may have a right to holiday pay. An employer has a right to give reasonable instructions to an employee and to have a job completed by the employee.

An employee's rights fall into two categories; statutory rights and contractual rights. Statutory rights are given by Parliament and upheld by law and can only be changed if the law is changed. They apply to every person who qualifies for them. Contractual rights however vary from contract to contract and will only apply to the people who are involved in the contract.

A contract of employment will usually be made up of three types of contractual terms. These are:-

• express terms (explicitly agreed between the employer and employee, for example, wages or hours of work)
• implied terms (which are not specifically agreed between the employer and employee e.g. mutual trust, duty of care)
• statutory terms (the right to receive notice, receive the minimum wage, redundancy pay, return to work after maternity leave, not be unfairly dismissed and not be discriminated against on the grounds of race or sex.)

If you unsure about any aspect of your contract then please contact the Advice Centre. You can also contact ACAS on 0845 747 47 47. They are a national organisation who deal with employment issues.

Seeking part time employment? Contact UWESU's Jobshop - jobshop@uwesu.net