Employment Contracts

An Employment Contract (or Agreement) is an agreement between an employer and an employee, usually a company and an individual.

The contract forms the basis of the working relationship between two parties. It sets out the rights, responsibilities and duties on both sides.

The terms of the contract will be different depending on the types of employment you’re offering: permanent or fixed-term.

The company can’t set any contract terms which give employees fewer rights than they have under the law of England and Wales, such as the right to paid holidays and the right to earn the National Minimum Wage.

If the worker is an independent contractor rather than an employee, you should use a Consultancy Agreement instead.

An Employment Agreement sets out in writing the terms that apply to your member of staff’s employment with you. The terms should include:

• salary


• duties


• probation period


• working conditions - including hours and location


• flexible and/or remote working arrangements


• holiday entitlements and pay


• sick pay


• pension scheme entitlements


• any confidentiality, non-compete and non-solicitation clauses


• any equity incentive plan if you have one (such as an Option Scheme)


• discipline and grievance procedures


• notice period


• termination details - how the contract can be ended and what happens

The easiest way to create an employment contract for your staff is to start with a template and customise it so that it’s exactly what you need.

On SeedLegals, you can create an Employment Agreement from our template and customise it by choosing terms to suit the type of employment you’re offering.

To get started, log into SeedLegals, go to Team. Add your team member and then create the Employment Agreement. It’s fast and incredibly simple. If you need any help, chat online with our experts.

When your document is ready, send it via SeedLegals to your new team member to sign online.

Best of all, we store your documents securely for as long as you need, so you can access them in My Documents anytime.

A SeedLegals Employment Agreement covers all the terms you need for a basic contract of employment - but it’s flexible enough to be used for even your most senior staff, including your Executive Directors.

You can add terms to the standard Employment Agreement and customise it so it’s exactly what you need.

Our standard Employment Agreement is a contract of employment for fixed-term and permanent members of staff.

If you’re employing a temporary member of staff, or someone who will work for you on a casual or seasonal basis, you should create and ask them to sign a Zero Hours Contract.

A worker employed on a Zero Hours Contract is still entitled to some employment rights (such as the right to be paid at least the National Minimum Wage and not to be unfairly dismissed) but it’s a flexible way to employ a temporary or seasonal member of the team.

Read more: Zero Hours Contracts »

No, you don’t need a separate NDA if your team member is already covered by a contract that includes confidentiality terms, such as an Employment Agreement, Consultancy Agreement or Intern Agreement.

The SeedLegals Employment Agreement template includes terms that protect your company’s confidential information. You can customise the template to suit your company. To get started, log into SeedLegals and go to Team. If you need any help, chat online with our experts.