Unit 9 AO2 Contracts

Contract of employment

A contract of employment is a formal statement that shows the employer is hiring someone to be their employee. The contract will state whether the employee will be working with the company permanently, part time or under a fixed term. The fixed term could be for 6 months to fill in somebody’s place or it could be used between a freelancer and employee. Freelancers only work for certain jobs as they are self-employed.

There are several different types of contracts. In the examples below, I have used BBC’s explanation of employment contract.

Continuing Contracts

Also known as a permanent contract, it is called a continuing basis and has no expiry date. The contract is open minded so that the employee can end the contract by resigning whenever they want, however there are normally agreements with termination of the contract. If you are resigning, you are meant to inform them within two weeks’ notice and if they no longer want you working for the company they are meant to give you the notice of dismissal a month before so that you have time to look for a replacement job.

Fixed Term Contracts

This contract has a fixed date that says the duration of your time in that job role is complete. These are normally used for jobs that last around 6 months or for freelancers that only do part time/one off jobs.

Even though the contract duration is shorter than a permanent contract, it doesn’t mean that the employee isn’t entitled to the benefits that come with being under a permanent contract. All employees are covered by the businesses contractual employment policies and are entitled to other benefits.

Flexi Contract

This is another form of contact that can be changed. It is a number of hours a week or a month that can be changed. Normally, the employee will be contacted when they are needed for a job.

The employee should only be put on a flexi contract if they can work flexible hours. An example of a flexible worker would be a freelancer. They are self-employed and trained in different sectors and should normally be able to work any hours as long as it doesn’t overlap their other jobs lined up.

People that are employed under a flexi contract are still covered by the company’s Contractual Employment Policies and are entitled to other benefits.

Casual Contract

This contract is used when the business hasn’t got work for longer than a month so the employee will only be working hours that are suitable for their timetable. Take a student for example; they would be hired to do hours after school times and on weekends. This job is not permanent and would only be temporary as the company looks for a employee that can do longer hours and is eligible for a proper job

Temporary Agency Contracts

This is an agreement between the agency and the company. The agency provides the company with the staff. This means that the staff are not completing the contract, the agency will do that for them, all they have to do is complete the job requirement.

BBC Freelance Contracts

This contract is offered to self-employed individuals who are providing their specialist services for a specific role, for a specific period of time.

Freelancers are self-employed individuals who are providing their specialist services for a specific role for a certain amount of time.

Job Description

Requirements