Employment Contract – Drafting, Reviewing & Protecting Your Business
At Baker Ashley, we’re happy to offer clear advice and a quote for drafting, updating, or reviewing employment contracts.
We know many employers would rather not spend time or money on contracts and policies — but having them in place is essential for a stable workforce and avoiding legal disputes. Cheap, off-the-shelf templates can be tempting, but they often fall short when you need them most.
Our employment lawyers make sure you have solid, reliable contracts that protect your business and set clear expectations for staff. We can also advise on contract disputes if they arise.
Key Employment Contract Clauses Employers Shouldn’t Overlook
Some of the most important protections for an employer are not automatically included in an employment contract. Without the right wording, you could be left exposed. Here are the main clauses you should consider:
1. Confidentiality Obligations
Employees should have a clear duty to keep sensitive business information private. This includes trade secrets, business know-how, customer lists, and supplier details. Without a written clause, you risk losing control over valuable information.
2. Intellectual Property & Trade Secrets
By default, you don’t automatically own all intellectual property created or used by employees in the course of their work. This covers things like databases, designs, products, software, and copyright materials. A specific clause is needed to make sure these rights belong to the business.
3. Restrictive Covenants & Non-Compete Clauses
These clauses limit an employee’s ability to compete with you after they leave. The law requires a fair balance between the employee’s right to work and your right to protect your business. If the restrictions are too wide, they may not be enforceable. This is a fast-changing area of law.
4. Monitoring & Remote Working
Employers don’t automatically have the legal right to read employees’ emails, even if sent on work systems. Employees have privacy rights. A contract or policy stating that monitoring will take place makes it much easier for you to do so lawfully.
5. Garden Leave
A garden leave clause lets you require an employee to stay away from work during their notice period, while still being employed and paid. This helps protect your business and makes it easier to enforce non-compete restrictions.
6. Pay in Lieu of Notice (PILON)
This allows you to end employment immediately by paying the employee instead of having them work their notice. It’s useful for keeping someone out of the market while non-compete clauses apply. However, these payments are taxable.
Employment policies
We create employment policies that fit your business needs. These are usually kept in a staff handbook or other easily accessible documents.
One reason employers prefer detailed policies rather than putting everything in the employment contract is flexibility. Contracts can’t be changed without agreement, but most policies can be updated by the employer without needing the employee’s consent.
A skilled employment lawyer will help you decide which policies should be binding (meaning you must follow them exactly) and which should be non-binding to allow for adjustments when needed.
Our policies clearly set out the standards expected from employees. In our experience, clear policies help educate staff, improve performance, and reduce workplace issues.
We can create or review a full range of employment policies, including:
Disciplinary and grievance procedures
Equal opportunities and diversity
Employee monitoring and data protection
Anti-bribery and corruption
Whistleblowing
Health and safety
Many others relevant to your workplace
Contact Us
If you have questions about employment contracts/policies, we’re here to help. Either call us on 01443 716242 or submit a lead form submission.
