Breach Of Contract – What Does It Mean In The Workplace?

By Author: Grant Saw Solicitors LLP
Total Articles: 22
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At the heart of any employment relationship, you will find a contract of employment. This document is more than a mere legal requirement, it is also the safe-keeping of both parties. The written statement of particulars forms a vital part of any contract and according to legal requirements, employers need to provide employees with this statement before commencing employment. The team at Grant Saw Solicitors LLP is a leader amongst employment lawyers for employees and employers. They have provided some insights into what the contract of employment entails and what the outcomes are that you can expect when a breach of contract occurs.
The contract of employment is the one document onto which both parties can fall back onto once any disagreements regarding employment occur. So, it needs to be a comprehensive document that stipulates the process and conditions for a range of workplace challenges that might occur. Therefore, a written statement of particulars is a vital part of the employment contract. The details which a written statement of particulars should include are the job title of the employee, the hours that they ...
... are committing to work, the rate which they will be paid per day for working these hours, and their entitlement to holidays. It also stipulated the employers' sick leave policy, which must be in line with the legal requirements set by legislation, how long the notice period is for both parties when they want to exit this contract, and the location of the place of work.
While you can include many more details and finer points of interest or even stipulations, the team at Grant Saw Solicitors LLP states that these additional details aren’t legally required and can thus vary from one contract to the next.
What signing the contract implies is that the employer would provide a reasonable space and workload according to the stipulations of the document and the employee agrees with confidence to adhere to these stipulations. The law also implies that by signing the contract, the employee is acknowledging their capabilities to fulfil the duties expected from the contract and the job description.
However, this all sounds extremely simplistic and easy to adhere to, but what happens in the case when a breach of contract occurs? When employers do not fulfil their end of the contract as stipulated, then they are in breach of contract and the employee is free to resign. In such a case, it would be appropriate to move on to a constructive dismissal.
Yet, when an employer is in breach of contract, this is not necessary where the legal impact ends. In the case when an employee suffered financial losses due to this breach of contract, they are free to bring in any claim due to the breach of contract, against their former employer, to the High Court or the County Court.
The requirements for these claims to proceed are that the claim can’t exceed £25,000 and that the employee's employment must be terminated. An employer also has to lodge these claims no more than three months after the termination of employment.
One of the ways how an employee can be guilty of breach of contract includes when they fail to serve the employer with the necessary notice. In such a case, the employer is entitled to claim compensation for the income they might have lost due to the neglect on their employee’s side.
As the team at Grant Saw Solicitors LLP have clients both on the employee side as well as on the employer side, they have a team of lawyers whose specific niche market is to deal with breach of contract cases.
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Grant Saw Solicitors LLP has been around since 1851, taking care of both the personal matters of our clients as well as of legal matters concerning the large corporates on our books. To do so successfully, our team consists of highly skilled professionals from a range of fields to ensure we provide a modern, effective and professional approach in all the matters we take on. Our long list of accolades testifies to our success in our field. With such a long-standing history, our reputation speaks of trust and efficiency. Visit our website at https://grantsaw.com/ and see how we can take care of your legal concerns.