Contracts and Agreements

Employment contracts and working arrangements that did not hold up to scrutiny. What the tribunals looked at, and what small employers assume at their peril.

23 results
Employee-favourable 2026

You can be entitled to redundancy pay from an agreement you’ve never seen.

If your contract points to an old agreement with a union or staff association, you can be entitled to redundancy terms set out in a document you have never seen, even years after it was signed.

Breach of contractContracts and AgreementsImplied TermsRedundancy
Employee-favourable 2026

Even if you’re called self-employed, time spent waiting for bookings can be paid work.

If your employer requires you to attend or stay at work even when there is no booking or task for you, that time should be paid under minimum wage law, whatever your contract calls you.

Contracts and AgreementsEmployment StatusHoliday PayNational Minimum WageWorker Rights
Employee-favourable 2026

A company restructure doesn’t give your employer the right to cut your notice pay.

A company restructure or rename doesn't let your employer shorten your contractual notice period without your agreement. What matters is whether you were paid less notice than your contract promised. If you were, you can claim the shortfall as a breach of contract.

Breach of contractContracts and Agreementsnotice payTUPE

Can my employer make me repay training costs if I leave my job?

If you've been asked to repay training costs after leaving a job, take a breath. Signing the contract doesn't automatically mean you owe what they're asking for.

Breach of contractContracts and AgreementsPayResignationRestraint of Trade
Employee-favourable 2000

A leaving-notice deduction that ignores your employer’s real loss can be an unlawful penalty.

A clause deducting a fixed sum from your pay for not working full notice is an unlawful penalty, not a valid liquidated damages clause, if it doesn't limit what your employer can otherwise claim for its actual loss.

Breach of contractContracts and AgreementsPayResignationRestraint of Trade
Employee-favourable 2026

A training cost clawback that applies no matter why you left probably isn’t enforceable.

A training clawback clause that applies whatever the reason you leave, and leaves your early pay close to nothing once repayments are factored in, is likely to be an unenforceable restraint of trade.

Breach of contractContracts and AgreementsPayResignationRestraint of Trade
Employer-favourable 2024

Being told you’re “at risk of redundancy” doesn’t always mean it’s a real redundancy

Being told your role is "at risk of redundancy" does not automatically mean the law treats it as a redundancy, especially if your contract already allows your employer to move or vary your role.

Contracts and AgreementsEmployment rightsProcedural FairnessRedundancy
Employee-favourable 2026

If you agreed to take less pay “for now”, your written contract can still say you’re owed the difference.

Your written contract sets your legal entitlement, whatever you may have agreed informally.

Contracts and AgreementsPayunpaid wages
Employee-favourable 2026

If your employer never gave you a written statement of your job terms, that failure alone can be worth two to four weeks’ pay, on top of anything else they owe you.

Employers who cut corners on pay, notice and paperwork can end up owing far more than they saved.

Contracts and AgreementsEmployer dutiesPayunpaid wages

Part-time and fixed-term workers: what equal treatment actually means

Working part-time or on a fixed-term contract? Here's what equal treatment actually means in law, the real time limit on fixed-term status, and how to challenge less favourable treatment.

Contracts and AgreementsEmployment Status

What your employer has to give you in writing about your job, and by when

You're entitled to a written statement of your job's core terms from day one, whether or not you've ever seen one.

Contracts and AgreementsEmployer dutiesEmployment rightsLength of service
Employee-favourable 2026

Your employer can’t deduct costs from your pay unless it’s actually in your contract.

You're entitled to get back any deduction your employer had no legal right to make.

Contracts and AgreementsEvidence and recordsPayunpaid wagesWorking time