Contracts of Employment Employee Details Please complete form using BLOCK CAPITALS and mark X in the relevant box Title First Name & Middle Name if applicable Surname Address (Including postcode & country) Mr. Mrs. Ms. Miss Gender Male Female Date of Birth E-mail Address / / Home Telephone Number Mobile Telephone Number Does the employee speak English? Job Details Yes No Job Title Job Description Will be appropriate to attach a separate document Page 1
Pay Rate of Pay Per if other please specify Hourly Weekly Annually Other Payable if other please specify Weekly Fortnightly Monthly Other Method of Payment Cash Cheque Credit Transfer Any additional information e.g. what day payment is made Contract Type Contract Type Permanent Fixed Term (Specified Item) Employee Shareholder Zero Hours Contract If Fixed Term Contract, what is the expected termination date? Fixed Term (Specified Purpose) If Specified Purpose, what is the purpose? e.g. maternity cover If Employee Shareholder Agreement, give details of share arrangement Can be provided on a separate document Page 2
Hours of Work Number of hours per week Normal Weekly Start/End Day e.g. Monday to Friday Start Day: End Day: Start Time (if fixed) End Time (if fixed) Any exceptions to normal working hours? Shift Work Casual Work Include details of shift/casual work pattern Include the 48 Hour Opt Out Clause Are there any Collective Agreements in place? If yes provide details: To whom should disciplinary appeals be made? Page 3
Dates and Places Date of commencement with this employer / / Date of this Contract If different to Date of Commencement / / Commencement of period of continuous employment This is only relevant where a company was acquired by another company Length of Probation Period Place of work, if different to employer s main address Required to drive as part of the job? Will the employee be required to work elsewhere Will the employee be working outside the state for more than 1 month? If yes provide details: Page 4
Overtime and Additional Benefits Is overtime paid or unpaid? Paid Unpaid Details of overtime payments or any other remuneration packages Is accommodation provided? If yes provide details: Is there a pension scheme? If yes provide details: Is there a company sick pay policy? If yes provide details: Minimum required notice if an employee is unable to attend work on any day? In cases of emergency, not planned Details of how the individual should notify the Company (optional) Hours Page 5
Breaks Are rest breaks paid or unpaid? Length of break Paid Unpaid Minutes / Hours Details of breaks and/or compensatory breaks Annual Leave Annual Leave Are Bank Holidays included? Annual Leave Year Hours / Days From: To: Notice Requirements on Termination Minimum notice the employee is required to give the employer of their intention to leave Minimum notice the employer will give the employee of termination of employment Should only Statutory Notice Periods apply? In the event of termination, may the employee be paid in lieu of notice? Days / Weeks Days / Weeks Page 6
Additional Information There are a number of additional clauses that you might wish to add to particular employment contracts. Please complete the following indicating if you want to include there sections: Garden Leave Acceptance of Gifts Confidential Information Expenses Deductions of Wages Company Car Confidential Agreement Night Work Double Employment Car Allowance Sunday Premium Zero-Hours Contract Meal Allowance Right to Search Mediation Lay-Off/Short-Time Casual Contracts Content Post Termination Restrictive Covenants Yes No Page 7
Garden Leave In certain cases, The Company may insist that notice is taken as garden leave during which time you will not be required to attend The Company s premises, nor will you be permitted to contact customers, fellow employees, nor any other contacts of The Company. You will be expected to remain available to and contactable by The Company during working hours. You may not engage in work on your own account or with or for the benefit of any third party while on garden leave. Acceptance of Gifts No inducement may be offered to, or accepted from, any supplier of goods or services. At times of special occasions, such as Christmas, small gifts of nominal value [no greater than { specified amount}] may be accepted with the knowledge of your manager who should be informed at the time. Confidential Information It is likely that as part of your job you will have access to confidential information. This may concern The Company s business affairs, processes, trade secrets or client information including contact details. You are required not to disclose any such information, during or after your employment, except in the proper course of your duties or as required by law. Although this is covered in the handbook, some employers may also wish to have specific mention in the contract. Expenses The Company will reimburse you [monthly] for such expenses as have reasonably been incurred in the performance of your duties subject to the provision to The Company of relevant receipts or other evidence of actual payment of expenses and a completed expense report form approved in line with Company Policy. Any expense which exceeds [a specified amount] must be approved in advance by [the appropriate manager] or such other person as may be advised to you from time to time. Deductions from Wages Page 8
The Company may, at any time during or at the termination of your employment, deduct from your salary and/or any other sums due to you, any money owed by you to The Company, including but not limited to: any overpayment of salary, bonus or expenses, any outstanding amounts due for repayment to The Company, advances or similar arrangements between you and The Company, the cost of repairing any damage to or replacing any property belonging to The Company where this is the result of any fault or carelessness on your part, losses due to your negligence or carelessness, unauthorised use of company credit cards. Under Payment of Wages Act only certain deductions can be made from an employee's salary without prior written consent or if it is provided for in their contract. Some employers may prefer to specifically state in the contract the circumstances that may give rise to deductions. Company Car You will be provided with a company car (an 'insert make and type of car') and The Company will pay tax, insurance, and maintenance expenses as well as fuel for business purposes. This will be subject to the appropriate benefit-in-kind tax. You will be expected to adhere to The Company policies in relation to vehicles and driving. Confidentiality Agreement Set out below are the terms of agreement between The Company and yourself regarding information protection and confidentiality. 1. (a) In the course of your employment with The Company, you may acquire information belonging to The Company or relating to its business. (b) In particular, you may acquire information relating to the company compounds, products, business studies, business procedures, inventions, patents or patent applications, manufacturing techniques or customers. (c) You will treat all such information (particularly information relating to the matters specifically mentioned in sub-paragraph (b) of this clause) as confidential unless and until you have ascertained that it is not. Page 9
(d) You will not at any time either during your employment or subsequently, disclose any part of such confidential information to any person whatsoever or yourself make any use of any part of such information for any purpose whatsoever. (e) You will not at any time after any termination of your employment, whether for payment or otherwise give to any person whatsoever, any information obtained by you in the course of your employment with The Company for the purpose of, or knowing that the same is to be used for, publication in a newspaper or on the radio or television, or in any other medium, without prior written permission of a full-time director. 2. Whilst employed with The Company, you will not engage in any activity in competition with or against the interests of The Company. 3. All inventions, discoveries, improvements, processes, designs, formulae and ideas made or conceived by you, in the course of your employment with The Company, or which it falls within your duty to make shall belong exclusively to The Company. 4. (a) You will promptly disclose to your immediate superior or other authorised person, any such invention, discovery, improvement, process, design, formula or idea. At the request of The Company and at its expense, either before or after termination of your employment, you will assist The Company in acquiring and maintaining patent protection upon and confirming its title to such inventions, discoveries, improvements, processes, designs, formulae and ideas. Your assistance will include the signing of applications for patents, assignments and other papers, co-operating in necessary proceedings, and taking any other steps considered desirable by such company. (b) You hereby appoint The Company to be your agent and attorney to do any act or execute any deed or other document on your behalf and generally to use your name for the purpose of giving The Company the full benefits of this clause. You agree that any act done by a director of The Company or its associates in pursuance of the foregoing authority given by you shall be conclusive evidence that it was done by and with your authority. 5. You will record descriptions of your work in the manner directed. All such records and copies of them, whether compiled or kept at home or at work, shall be the exclusive property of The Company, and shall be handed over to The Company on demand or upon leaving the service of The Company. Night Work Page 10
You may be required to work beyond midnight on any day, where requested by the Company. In such an event you will be paid an additional payment of (insert rate/premium) for work performed after this time. Double Employment You must inform and update the Company of your working hours in any second employment so that we can ensure that working hours at all times meet the requirements of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997. Car Allowance You shall be entitled to a Car Allowance of (insert amount) per (month/year) which shall be paid periodically together with your salary. Car allowances are taxed at the current applicable tax rates. Sunday Premium You will be required to work Sundays where requested by the Company. In such an event, you will be paid an additional payment of (insert rate/premium) for work performed on a Sunday. Or You will be required to work Sundays where requested by the Company. This has been factored in to your overall rate of pay and no further payment is due. Zero-Hour Contracts You are required to be available to work a [0-40] hour week, any five days out of seven including Sundays and Public Holidays at the Company's discretion. Rosters shall be established as appropriate. [Rosters will be posted no later than Wednesday of each week, covering the following Sunday to Saturday period]. Meal Allowance Meals are provided whilst on duty and a weekly deduction, in line with the National Minimum Wage Act 2000, will be made for this provision. Right to Search The Company reserves the right to search you, your property and vehicles and lockers at any time whilst you are at, coming to, or leaving work whether it is on The Company premises or elsewhere. Refusal to comply with a search request may be deemed serious misconduct. Page 11
Mediation The Company promotes the prompt resolution of disputes. In the event of any dispute arising out of, or in relation to this agreement, or any subsequent agreement between the parties, and if the dispute cannot be resolved through normal line management approaches, the parties agree to submit the dispute to mediation by a mediator selected as follows: [insert manner of selection] Your statutory rights are not affected by or through the mediation process. Lay-Off/Short-Time While it is The Company s intention to provide continuity of employment, there may be circumstances outside The Company s control which may necessitate lay-off, short-time or reduced working hours. Should the need arise to lay you off or put you on short-time or reduced working hours, The Company will give you as much notice as is reasonable in the circumstances. You will only be paid for actual hours worked during such periods. Casual Contracts Content You are employed on a casual basis. Your hours of work will be determined by mutual agreement. The Company will give you as much notice as possible of hours of work, which are available to you, which is usually between 1 to 2 days. However, the Company may require you to be more flexible to meet the needs of the business and therefore it will not always be possible to give you this notice. This will be done in accordance with the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997. You have the right to refuse or accept these hours. You are not expected to be on call for work and will not be paid an allowance for same. The refusal of hours on your behalf will have no negative consequence on hours being offered to you in the future. Please note that hours of work may vary from week to week and thus, the Company gives no guarantee that hours will be offered to you on a weekly basis. The nature of your role means that there may be periods when no suitable work is available and the Company shall incur no liability to you should it fail to offer opportunities to work. There may also be extended periods of time where a high volume of work is available followed by periods of time where no work is available. This shall in no way give rise to an implied term of a guaranteed minimum amount of working hours. If you agree to hours of work, you will be required to attend work for those hours. Failure to attend will result in disciplinary action up to and including dismissal. Page 12
Employers may want to include a section detailing how they will select which casual employees they will contact for particular tasks from a panel. For example: Hours of work are offered on the basis of suitability and length of service i.e. a list of those suitable will be complied and then, once this list has been formed followed by a first in first asked (FIFA) approach. The below objective criteria are used to decide on suitability: Availability Previous Experience Performance during pervious assignments Relationship with client or customer Location of work in relation to the location of the employee The employee being contactable by phone Your normal working hours range between (insert times) and (insert time) from Monday to Sunday. You may be required to work overtime depending on the requirements of your work and the business, and at the Company's discretion. You are liable to work Saturday/Sunday/public holidays. These hours shall be given and paid in accordance with the provisions of the Organisation of Working Time Act, 1997. Rest breaks will be given in accordance with the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997. These breaks will be taken in line with business requirements and will be unpaid. Post Termination - Restrictive Covenants The Company has, as you acknowledge invested considerable time, effort and expense in developing its business. You acknowledge and agree that if you were to compete with The Company immediately after the termination of your employment The Company would be at a serious disadvantage and such unfair competition would do damage, financial or otherwise. Therefore you acknowledge that these restrictions are fair and reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of The Company s legitimate business interests. Definitions: Customer: any person, firm, company or organisation who was at any time during the Relevant Period a customer of The Company and for whose business or account you (or any person who reports to you) dealt with or had responsibility for during the relevant period. Prospective Customer: any person, firm company or organisation which at any time during the Relevant Period you have been involved on behalf of The Company in a formal tender or proposal with a view to doing business with The Company (or any Associated Company). Page 13
Relevant Period: the [12] months before the termination date. Restricted Area: the geographical area in which The Company (or any Associated Company) has conducted Restricted Business. Restricted Business: any business of The Company (or any Associated Company) with which you were involved in during the relevant period. Termination Date: the date on which your employment with The Company terminates. Non-Competition During the term of your employment and for a period of [3 months][6 months][other] after your Termination Date, you will not, either personally or by an agent, whether on your own or in association with another person/organisation, engage in business with or be in any way interested in any person, firm, company or organisation that conducts Restricted Business within the Restricted Area. Non-Solicitation During the term of your employment and for a period of [3 months][6 months][other] after your Termination Date, you will not, either personally or by an agent, whether on your own or in association with another person/organisation, canvas, solicitor, or attempt to solicit any business from The Company s Customers, Prospective Customers for or in relation to any business or activity which is in competition with The Company (or any Associated Company). Non-Dealing During the term of your employment and for a period of [3 months][6 months][other] after your Termination Date, you will not, either personally or by an agent, whether on your own or in association with another person/organisation, for or in relation to any business or activity which is in competition with The Company, deal, negotiate, or contract with any Customer or Prospective Customer with whom you personally dealt with during the [three months][six months][other period] immediately preceding the termination of your employment. Non-Poaching During the term of your employment and for a period of [3 months][6 months][other] after your Termination Date, you will not, either personally or by an agent, whether on your own or in association with another person/organisation, employ or engage any person who was during the Relevant Period a director, senior or key employee of The Company (or any Associated Company). General Terms Page 14
The period of each Restriction in the above clauses or any part thereof will be reduced by the length of any period immediately before the Termination Date during which The Company required you to remain away from its premises or not to carry out your duties to any Garden Leave clause. In the event that any one or more or any part of the Restrictions set out about shall be rendered or judged invalid or unenforceable, such restriction or part shall be deemed to be severed from this agreement and such invalidity or unenforceability shall not in any way affect the validity or enforceability of the remaining restrictions. Guidance Note for Post Termination - Restrictive Covenants Every business has information that it considers both integral and invaluable to its success. Restricting the use of this information by employees after their employment has ended may be vital to the protection of your business or customer contacts. An ex-employee who has knowledge of your strategic information, customer base, or clients list may be an attractive asset to a competitor seeking to encroach upon your market. A restrictive covenant is typically a clause included in a contract of employment which prohibits an employee from competing with their ex-employer for a certain period after they have left the business, or prevents the ex-employee from soliciting or dealing with customers of the business by using knowledge of those customers gained during his prior employment. Standard types of restrictive covenants Non-Competition - restrictions on the former employee working in similar employment for a competitor; Non-Solicitation - prevent poaching of clients/customers/suppliers of the former employer; Non-Dealing - prevent a former employee from dealing with former clients/customers/suppliers, regardless of which party approached the other; Non-poaching - prevent an employee poaching former colleagues. Enforcing a restrictive covenant clause is a severe encroachment of an individual s freedom to do business. For that reason courts will only enforce clauses that are aimed at protecting the legitimate business interests of the company and go no further than is reasonably necessary to protect those interests. In the event of a clause being challenged, it will be the responsibility of the employer to show that it was justified and sufficiently narrow it must not be drafted too widely. To meet these criteria employers should be mindful of certain factors: Page 15
The extent of the geographical area of any restriction and the length of time of the post termination restriction must be justified. It is unlikely that a wide geographical area will be justified and, as a general rule, a restriction for more than 6-12 months will be difficult to justify. The extent of the activities that the employer is trying to restrict. Regard will also be had to the type of interest being protected, for instance, information such as trade secrets may be granted wider protection than customer information, given that its potential use across markets is wider. An employer may also be required to evidence any connection between the employee and any information that is being protected. The extent of clauses, therefore, must be relative to the employee's position within the business. As more senior employees will be in contact with more sensitive information, restrictions placed upon them may be justified as being more onerous. Overall, a one-size fits-all policy on restrictive covenant clauses risks the clause becoming unenforceable. Restrictive covenants may also require periodic review in order to maintain their enforceability as the reasonableness of the covenant is judged at the time it was entered into. The court may have regard to what is standard practice in the employer's industry with regard to such covenants and the above factors. The following template policy is provided as a guide only; the policy contains all four standard types of restrictive covenants. Employers are advised to carefully review the policy with the above points in mind, ensuring it suits their needs and the needs of the role it is being applied to. Page 16