UK Employment Contract Templates: Scrib🐮

TL;DR: Scrib🐮's M1 Templates produce a complete UK written statement of employment particulars — covering all ERA 1996 Day 1 requirements — so your first hire starts with a proper, compliant contract.

The Challenge

Since April 2020, UK employers must provide all employees (and workers) with a written statement of employment particulars from Day 1 of employment. The Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), as amended by the Good Work Plan, specifies exactly what must be included: job title, start date, pay, hours, holiday entitlement, sickness provisions, notice periods, probationary period, pension enrolment, and more.

Many small employers use a contract they downloaded years ago, adapted from a friend's business, or purchased as a one-size-fits-all document from an online HR platform. These documents frequently omit the post-2020 Day 1 requirements: the right to work flexibly, the probationary period length, and the requirement to state any training obligations. An inadequate written statement exposes employers to Employment Tribunal claims and up to four weeks' pay in compensation per employee.

Employment solicitors charge £300–£800 for a bespoke contract. HR platforms charge monthly subscriptions for contract access but often provide no guidance on filling in jurisdiction-specific fields correctly.

How Scrib🐮 M1 Templates Solve It

Scrib🐮's M1 Template module for UK employment contracts walks you through every ERA 1996 mandatory field with explanatory prompts, then generates a complete written statement document.

Step 1 — Employment type. Choose between employee (employed under a contract of employment) and worker (hired for specific work without the employer/employee relationship). The template adjusts the applicable rights and provisions. Most full-time hires will be employees; gig or shift-based hires may be workers.

Step 2 — Core particulars. Enter job title, job description, start date, place of work (including any mobile working provisions), and whether the role is fixed-term or permanent. For fixed-term roles, the template adds a clause explaining the grounds for the fixed term and what happens on expiry.

Step 3 — Pay and hours. Enter base salary or hourly rate, pay frequency, and normal working hours. The template automatically calculates and inserts the statutory minimum holiday entitlement (5.6 weeks / 28 days for full-time employees under the Working Time Regulations 1998: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/1833/contents), and adds a field for any contractual holiday entitlement above the statutory minimum.

Step 4 — Probation and notice. Set the probationary period length (commonly 3 or 6 months) and both the employer's and employee's notice requirements. The template inserts the statutory minimum notice periods from the ERA 1996 as a floor, with your contractual notice above that.

Step 5 — Additional provisions. The template covers sickness absence and sick pay (including whether the employee receives contractual sick pay above SSP), pension auto-enrolment acknowledgment, confidentiality obligations, intellectual property assignment, and the right to search policy if applicable.

Step 6 — Export. Download the complete written statement as a PDF ready for signing. The document includes a signature block for both employer and employee, with a statement that both parties have received a copy.

All template language reflects the ERA 1996 as amended (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/contents) and the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance Procedures.

Scrib🐮 prepares documents; for advice on employment law compliance specific to your situation, consult an employment solicitor or ACAS.

What's Included in Your Scrib�oo Pass

Pricing: From $149/month — all menus, all countries, unlimited documents.

Why Scrib🐮 vs DIY or Traditional Services

DIY risk: The most common DIY mistake is using a pre-2020 contract that omits the Good Work Plan Day 1 provisions. A second common error is setting contractual notice below the statutory minimum (which is automatically overridden by the ERA 1996, but creates confusion). A third is failing to include a right to search clause if the business operates in retail or security environments.

Employment solicitor: UK employment solicitors typically charge £300–£800 per bespoke employment contract. For a business hiring its first three or four employees, this cost is significant relative to early-stage cashflow.

HR platform subscriptions: Monthly subscription HR platforms provide contract templates but generally offer minimal guidance on what to enter in each field. You still need to know what probationary period is appropriate, how to handle commission structures, and how to draft enforceable restrictive covenants — none of which a blank template answers.

Scrib🐮: Every field has an inline explanation. The generated document covers all Day 1 ERA 1996 requirements. At $149/month, you can prepare contracts for multiple employees within the subscription period, plus company formation and lease documents as needed.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Does the template cover the Good Work Plan Day 1 requirements introduced in April 2020?

Yes. The M1 Template module was designed with the post-April 2020 ERA 1996 requirements in mind, including probationary period, training obligations, and any paid leave entitlements beyond annual leave. The Employment Rights Act 1996 (as amended) is referenced at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/18/contents.

Q: Can I use the same template for both full-time and part-time employees?

Yes. The template adjusts the holiday entitlement calculation for part-time hours automatically. Under the Part-Time Workers (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2000, part-time employees cannot be treated less favourably than comparable full-time employees.

Q: Does the template include restrictive covenants (non-compete, non-solicitation)?

The template includes optional restrictive covenant clauses covering non-competition, non-solicitation of clients, and non-solicitation of employees. These clauses require careful drafting to be enforceable under English law. Scrib🐮 provides a standard framework; for restrictive covenants covering senior employees or those with access to significant trade secrets, review by an employment solicitor is strongly advisable.

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