Employment Contract Changes From 6 April 2020 - Are You Ready?

This information is prescribed in section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and is commonly known as a 'section 1 statement'. It must currently be provided within 2 months of employment commencing and can usually be found within an offer letter or a contract of employment, or a combination of both documents.

The position is changing from 6 April 2020 for all new starters. The key changes from 6 April 2020 are:

• The majority of the information required in a section 1 statement will need to be provided on (or before) employment commences; it will become a Day 1 right.
• The right to a section 1 statement as a Day 1 right is extended to workers, not just employees.
• The following additional information will need to be provided:
• The days of the week the employee/worker is required to work and whether working hours or days may be variable, including details of how they may vary.
• Any entitlement to paid leave (for example maternity leave and paternity leave).
• Any other remuneration or benefits provided.
• Any probationary period, including any conditions and its duration.
• Any training provided which the employee/worker is required to complete and any other required training in respect of which the school will not bear the cost.
• The majority of the information required in a section 1 statement will need to be provided in one single document.

Best Practice

Now is the time to review and consider your school's employment documentation in preparation for April 2020. It is reassuring that many schools already provide the majority of the additional information that will be required from April 2020 in the employment contract and it is common practice to provide this well in advance of employment commencing, sometimes at the same time as the offer letter. Schools will need to consider the timing of the provision of the employment contract, specifically for part-time staff, where the specific working days (for the first year of employment at least) are not known until the timetable is finalised.

For those schools operating the VWV template contracts only, minor changes will be required as our contracts contain much of the information required already. We will be issuing an update to these contracts in the usual way in the coming months.

If you're worried how the employment contract change will affect you, please contact Amaya Hobby on 0117 314 5640 or Simon Bevan on 0117 314 5238, in our Employment Law team, or complete the form below.