What terms are implied into an employment contract?

The terms of an employment contract set out the details of an employee’s job. The terms of an employment contract can be written, oral or implied. Implied terms are not written in the employment contract but they are considered under employment law to form part of the employment contract. Employment lawyers can offer advice on any aspect of employment law including the use of implied terms within an employment contract.
The courts have developed the employment law regarding implied terms over a number of years. The courts consider there to be three types of terms that can be implied into employment contracts. Firstly, terms that are necessary to make the employment contract work, or to give business efficacy to the contract can be implied into the employment contract. For example, the general duty of mutual trust and confidence is essential if both the employer and employee are to work successfully together. This duty can generally be automatically implied as a term in an employment contract.

Secondly, terms can be implied into an employment contract if they are so obvious that they can be assumed to be included in the employment contract. For example, the term that an employee shall not steal from an employer is obvious and can be assumed to form part of the employment contract. Employment law allows for these unstated terms to be used and enforceable under contract law.

Thirdly, an employer’s established customs or practices can be implied terms of an employment contract. For example, the practice of giving employees’ a Christmas bonus every year can be an implied term of the employment contract. The practice or custom must be regular and consistent if it is to form part of the employment contract as an implied term. Employment law solicitors can help ensure that these types of implied terms are used consistently to comply with current employment law.

There is a fourth category of terms that can be implied into an employment contract. These terms arise from the employment rights that employees’ are granted by statutes. For example, the right to the minimum wage, the right to not be unlawfully discriminated against, and the right to paid holiday leave. Employees’ statutory rights are implied into employment contracts. Employees that have had these rights broken should consult with employment solicitors, as they may have a case for compensation. Employment law is clear especially when applying statutes that link to the minimum wage and discrimination employment law.

A breach of an implied term by an employer has the same consequences in employment law as a breach of a written term. If an employer has breached a term, implied or otherwise, of an employee’s employment contract, the employee is advised to seek legal advice from an employment solicitor.

Other rights are set out in statute. For example, employment law sets out many redundancy rights. Employers are legally obligated to respect an employee’s redundancy rights or else they may face legal action for breach of redundancy rights. Examples of statutory redundancy rights include the notice period, consultation in collective redundancies, and statutory minimum redundancy pay.