Employment contract

• A contract is a voluntary, deliberate, and legally binding agreement between two or more competent parties
• An employment contract is such a contract between an employer and employee
• When there is a successful candidate is selected he or she is offered a contract of employment
• A contract is only valid if the following conditions are met:
• Both parties sign them of their free will and none is coerced
• Both parties understand the meaning of the contract e.g. both parties are above the age of consent i.e. 18 years and above, not drunk, understand the language employed, are not mentally ill or insane etc
• If any of these conditions are not met the contract is said to be void
• Typically employment contracts spell out the following terms:
  1. Date of commencement i.e. when the employee begins to work
  2. Pay/Salary amount
  3. Hours of work
  4. Holiday and Leave entitlements
  5. Sick pay
  6. Pension
  7. Period of notice
  8. Title of job
  9. disciplinary procedures
  10. grievance procedures
• Employment contracts can be verbal or written
• Wherever possible an employment contract must be in writing which will be helpful in the event of future disputes
• They can also be classified as:
• full time employment contracts
• Agency contracts
• Seasonal contracts etc
• In addition to the above an employment contract must be according to the letter of the law.
• If a provision in the contract is against the law the entire contract or that provision may either be annulled
• For example a contract that spells out a salary that is beyond the minimum wage set out in labour laws is null and void

To access more topics go to the O Level Business Notes