Employment Contracts

Having clear, legally compliant employment contracts is essential for any organisation that employs staff, including charities. A contract forms a legally binding agreement between the employer and the employee as soon as a job offer is accepted, even if nothing has been put in writing yet.

Although contracts can be verbal, UK law requires organisations to issue a written statement of employment particulars on or before the employee’s first day of work.

What a Written Employment Contract Must Include

The written statement (which forms the core part of the employment contract) must set out key details such as the employer and employee names, job title, start date, pay, working hours, and holiday entitlement. It must also cover probationary periods, and required training.

Further terms such as sick pay, notice periods and paid leave can be provided separately, as long as employees can easily access them.

ACAS provides clear, practical guidance on what must be included in a contract and how to structure written statements, along with templates and explanations of implied terms and duties. You can explore this guidance in ACAS’s resource on employment contracts.

Why Contracts Matter for Charities

Contracts are particularly important in the voluntary and community sector because organisations:

• often rely on funding cycles or short-term projects, leading to fixed‑term contracts
• may employ small teams without dedicated HR staff
• risk legal disputes if employment status boundaries (e.g., employee, worker, volunteer) are unclear

Changing or Updating Contracts

Employment contracts must be kept up to date and should only be changed with employee agreement. ACAS provides guidance on varying contracts, explaining when consultation is required and how changes should be communicated to maintain trust and fairness. You can find this in their Employment Contracts guidance.

Contracts and Volunteer Agreements

Volunteers should never be issued with an employment contract. Giving volunteers contractual obligations or benefits that appear to be payment can inadvertently convert them into workers, with associated legal rights such as minimum wage and holiday pay. Volunteer agreements should focus on flexibility and avoid contractual language, read more in our Volunteers and the Law section.

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