Written statement of employment particulars: what must be in it
6 minute read · 2026-10-08
If you are an employee or a worker, you are entitled to a written statement of your main terms on or before your first day. The law is section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, and since 6 April 2020 it has covered workers (including agency workers and many casual and zero hours workers) as well as employees, from day one rather than within two months.
A written statement is not always the whole contract. Your contract is everything you and the employer agreed, in writing, out loud or by the way things are actually done. The statement is the legal minimum that must be written down, so that both sides can point to it later.
What must be in it on day one
Most of the particulars must be in a single document, given no later than the day you start:
- the names of the employer and of you;
- the date your employment started, and the date your continuous employment began (which can be earlier, for example after a transfer);
- how much you are paid, or how it is worked out, and how often (weekly, monthly);
- your normal hours and days, whether they can vary, and how;
- holiday entitlement, including bank holidays, and holiday pay, clear enough to work out what you get when you leave;
- any other paid leave;
- any other benefits (for example a car, meals, help with travel);
- notice periods, both ways;
- your job title or a short description of the work;
- if the job is not permanent, how long it is expected to last, or the end date of a fixed term;
- any probation period, its length and conditions;
- where you will work, or that you will work at various places, and the employer's address;
- any training you must complete, and whether the employer pays for it;
- for work abroad for more than a month, extra details about the period, currency and return.
What can come later or be in another document
Some details can follow within two months, or be given by pointing you to a document you can reasonably get at (a handbook, an intranet page): pension arrangements, any collective agreements that affect your terms, training the employer provides but does not require, and the disciplinary and grievance rules. Sick pay rules and pension details may be given by reference to another document (section 2). The disciplinary rules must still say who you go to if you are unhappy with a decision or have a grievance.
Changes to your terms
If any of these particulars change, the employer must tell you in writing, at the latest on the day the change takes effect (section 4). That is a duty to tell you, not a right to change your terms without agreement. Changing a contract still needs your agreement or a clear contractual power; see fire and rehire.
Agency workers have more paperwork, not less
If you work through an agency, you should also get a key information document before you agree terms, and written terms from the agency before it finds you work. See the key information document and our own versions at terms of engagement and assignment confirmation.
What happens if you never got one
You can ask a tribunal to decide what the particulars should have said (section 11). On its own that is rarely worth a claim. Where it matters is alongside another claim: if you win, for example, an unlawful deductions or unfair dismissal claim and the employer had not given you a complete statement, the tribunal must normally award an extra two weeks' pay and may award four (section 38 of the Employment Act 2002), with a week's pay subject to the statutory cap.
More importantly, a missing statement makes every later argument harder for both sides. If there is nothing in writing about your hours, your holiday or your notice, it is your word against theirs.
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland has its own equivalent in the Employment Rights (Northern Ireland) Order 1996, and the details and dates differ. The Labour Relations Agency can tell you what applies.
What to do next
- Check what you have against the list above. GOV.UK has the same list: written statement of employment particulars.
- Missing? Ask in writing, politely, and keep a copy. An email is enough.
- Confused by a word in it? What the words mean explains the usual terms, and reading the small print shows what to look for.
- Check your pay paperwork too: your pay paperwork.
This is general information, not legal advice. For your own situation, ACAS (0300 123 1100) is free.
Every contract we would ask anybody to sign is published in full before they sign it: our paperwork. And for the words in any contract, ours or anybody else's: reading the small print and what the words mean.
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