Employment Terms
and Conditions
and Breach of Contract

You may have been offered a contract of employment and asked to sign on the dotted line.

However, some contracts may contain legal jargon which makes it hard to understand the implications of signing the same.

For example, you may have post termination restrictions (also referred to as restrictive covenants) which set out restrictions on where and who you can and cannot work for when your employment with that Company ends.

If you need legal advice in relation to the clauses in your contract of employment, why not contact Oakwood Solicitors Ltd to speak to one of our experienced employment lawyers.

Your employer may be forcing you to sign a new contract that includes clauses in it that you did not previously agree to, such as a lay-off clause.

Your employer may be putting pressure on you to sign the new contract by a certain time and may also be making threats about the termination of your employment if you do not agree to the proposed changes.

Whether or not your employer can fairly dismiss you for not signing the new contract will very much depend on the reasons your employer wants to implement the change, the effects of the change on you, the consultation period that the employer has gone through, and whether there are any alternatives that are more proportionate and your length of service.

A breach of contract can be stressful and disappointing if you have accepted a job role on certain terms and conditions, only to find out that in reality those terms and conditions will not be complied with.

To name a few, common examples of breach of contract include but are not limited to:

• Unpaid wages including bonuses/commissions/overtime
• Being asked to work different hours or shifts to those you had agreed to
• Not being allowed to take your allocated break times
• Change in your job title/duties

It is important to raise your concerns informally with your employer first to see if your concerns can be resolved without the involvement of legal support.

However, if discussing your concerns informally does not resolve your issue then you should perhaps look to raise your concerns formally, by way of raising a Grievance. Find out more about raising a grievance by clicking here.

Generally an employee must start ACAS Early Conciliation within three months less a day from the incident or decision that they wish to complain to their employer about, even if the grievance or grievance appeal process is still ongoing.

Breach of contract claims are capped at £25,000 in the Employment Tribunal. Therefore if you the value of your claim exceeds this, the claim must be bought in the County or High Court, as applicable.

If an employee does not start ACAS Early Conciliation within that time period then they may be prevented from bringing a claim against their employer before an Employment Tribunal.

It is important that you seek legal advice as soon as you are able to ensure that you do not inadvertently pass the time frame in which you have to bring a claim before an Employment Tribunal.

Breach of Contract claims can often be complex and therefore, establishing the time limit you have to pursue you claim is not always straightforward.  Please contact Oakwood Solicitors Ltd as soon as possible so that we can assist you to act in the relevant time limit.

You will have a dedicated advisor who will see your claim through from start to finish, assisting you in the event of any queries or issues you may have. If it is preferable to you, we are able to assign a female advisor to carry out your claim.

Your case handler will also continue to provide regular updates until the conclusion of your claim, ensuring the process is as stress-free and effortless as possible.

Information regarding our fees can be found in the following places:

• A full list of our Employment fees can be read here.
• Our Fees overview page can be found here.

We advise reading through these in detail.

All fees charged by the Firm are 20% VAT payable, which is currently set at 20%.