Aside from being a chore, drawing up employment contracts can be like picking your way through a minefield. You need to protect things such as your intellectual property… but your contracts must also be legally compliant. They’re there to protect the employee as well as your business.

Please understand this, though: It is not enough to write something yourself and expect it to be legally binding.

Sure, the contract might look okay to you – but a well-trained employment lawyer will know exactly how to pull it to pieces. Get it wrong – even slightly wrong – and you could find yourself held liable and ordered to pay compensation.

But you don’t have to risk this happening to you…

The Employment Law Practical Handbook includes a detailed section on employment contracts, explaining what absolutely must go in them.

Here are 3 essential clauses all your employment contracts need to contain:

1. A confidentiality clause. This will keep your employees from disclosing your company’s private and confidential information to your competitors…
2. An intellectual property clause. This will make it clear to your employees that you own all copyrighted material that was created during their employment, even if the employee created or invented that material themselves…
3. A restraint provision. This will stop an employee from working for a competitor for a certain period after they leave your employment. It will also prevent employees from using your clients, suppliers and staff against you, and will provide protection for your confidential information…

But that’s not all you have to include! There are also 6 terms that must feature in every single employment contract you write – or else the whole thing could be deemed invalid in a court of law.

These 6 elements are fully explained on Page E1/8 of the Employment Law Practical Handbook’s employment contracts chapter, and you can’t afford to ignore a single one!

Here’s more of the great information you’ll find in chapter E1 Employment Contracts in the Employment Law Practical Handbook:

• 13 tell-tale signs that a worker is a sole trader… more information on Page E1/5
• How to draft an employment contract that will protect the needs of your business as well as the employee… more information on Page E1/13
• How probationary periods can benefit you as an employer – and why you should make sure you include them in your contracts… more information on Page E1/15
• When it is appropriate to use fixed-term employment – and when it is not… more information on Page E1/7