Written statement of employment particulars

What the written statement records

A written statement of employment particulars puts the main employment terms in a form the person can keep. It is evidence of what the employer has provided, but it is not necessarily the whole employment contract.

In Great Britain, employees and workers must receive the principal statement on or before their first day. The wider statement is due within two months. The current GOV.UK particulars list separates what belongs in the principal statement, what must also be given on day one and what can follow in the wider statement.

Make the document match the job

Record the employer and employee or worker, start date, role, workplace, pay, hours and working pattern. Cover holiday, sickness, probation, benefits, training and notice where required. If the employment is fixed-term, state its end date or explain the event that will end it.

Use the same agreed details as the job offer and contract record. A document can contain every expected heading and still be poor evidence when its salary, location or hours contradict what the person accepted.

Policies can hold detailed procedures. The statement should identify those documents clearly and make them reasonably accessible, so the person does not have to guess which notice, sick-pay or disciplinary rules apply.

Keep the accepted version current

Give the statement a version date and keep the accepted copy with the employment record. In Great Britain, changes to the particulars must be confirmed within one month of the change. Check the separate Northern Ireland rule before applying the same deadline there.

When a term changes, record the agreed change as well as updating the statement. Replacing a file without preserving the earlier version leaves no clear account of what applied before the change.