Implied terms of an employment contract
Contracts of employment contain some terms and conditions that apply even if they are not written down.
As well as the oral and/or written terms you actually agree with your employee, an employment contract can also include implied terms.
Implied terms include:
- your duty to provide a secure, safe, and healthy environment for the employee
- the employee's duty of honesty and loyal service
- implied duty of mutual trust and confidence between you and the employee
- a term too obvious to need stating, eg that your employee will not steal from you and that you will pay the employee reasonable wages for the work you have employed them to do
- any terms that are necessary to make the contract workable, eg that someone employed as a driver will have a valid driving licence
Some terms and conditions may become implied because you have consistently done something over a significant period, eg made enhanced redundancy payments to redundant employees. This is known as custom and practice. See what a contract of employment is for further information on terms through custom and practice.
The law also imposes some terms automatically, such as the right to a minimum of 5.6 weeks' paid annual leave, the right to be paid at least the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage rate (age dependant), and the right not to be unlawfully discriminated against.