Learning in Small Bites

Key Legislation Underpinning Employment Contracts

The Employment Rights Act 1996 underpins contracts of employment in the United Kingdom.

The terminolgy to use is a written statement of particulars of employment. This summarises the main particulars of the employment relationship and must according to the legislation be given within two months of the person's first day of service.

Whilst the law states two months it would actually be poor form to encourage a person to give up an existing job or prior state of affairs without actually presenting them with the contractual terms of their new role until two months after it has started. The law is quite flexible but if we are truly focused on the quality of the engagement with the prospective member of staff the written statement of particulars really should be issued as soon as possible after the decision to appoint has been made.

Issuing the written statement of particulars at the earliest point means the person is aware of what they being contracted to and can clarify any uncertainties before accepting. Starting a relationship in this manner where possible helps ensure a more harmonious contract.

The key aspects of a written statement of particulars are as follows:

The names of the employer and employee.
The title of the job which the employee is employed to do or a brief description of the work for which they are employed.
Where the employment is not intended to be permanent, the period for which it is expected to continue.
Either the place of work or, where the employee is required or permitted to work at various places, an indication of that and of the address of the employer.
The date when the employment began.
The date on which the employee’s period of continuous employment began (taking into account any employment with a previous employer which counts towards that period). The continuous employment date is often the same as the start date. Where it is earlier this may give the new starter certain employment rights that come with longer service.
The scale or rate of remuneration/pay or the method of calculating this.
The intervals at which remuneration is paid (that is, weekly, monthly or other specified intervals).
Any terms and conditions relating to hours of work.
Entitlement to holidays, including public holidays, and holiday pay.
How incapacity for work due to sickness or injury will be handled, including any provision for sick pay.
Pensions and pension schemes.
The length of notice which the employee is obliged to give and entitled to receive to terminate his contract of employment.
Any collective agreements which directly affect the terms and conditions of the employment. In large organisations trade unions negotiate with the employer on behalf of staff, the agreements they reach with the employer are called collective agreements.

Key to the Organisation Chart

An explanation of the symbols used

	This icon represents a unit that has child units. Click it to see the child units.
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Unit name	Click on a unit to get more information on it. If the unit has child units it will open a page showing them too.
	Clicking this icon takes you to some basic theory on organisation charts and structure.
	This button is Collapse All and when clicked closes all units that have been opened up.
	This button is Expand All and when clicked opens all units so you will see every aspect of the tree.

Job Specification

Job Specification - Printable Version

University of Small Bites

Job Spec Reference usb0015/100028/088

Job Description

Administrator

Corporate Support Services

Reports To: Senior Administrator

Supervises: Not responsible for any staff.

Will at times be expected to give advice to people on project teams set up for specific purposes.

Job Type: Administration/Managerial Support

Grade: Grade 5 Full-time : 40 hours per week

Job Purpose:

A generic role to pick up on administrative tasks as required by teams.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Prepares packs of information

Letter writing using templates.

Routine calculations for payroll.

Phone calls.

Reception duties.

Person Specification

D=Desireable, E=Essential

Knowledge and Experience

Experience of working in a formal office type environment - E

Knowledge of the principles of good customer care - E

Experience of drafting simple letters - E

Experience of doing simple calculations in a payroll or financial environment. - E

Experience of of using computerised office systems particularly wordp rocessors and spreadsheets. - E

Knowledge of how the prinicples of data protection apply at work. - D

Skills and Abilities

Ability to work accurately under pressure. - E

Ability to use computerised systems. - E

Typing speed of at least 15 words per minute - E

Ability to file alphabetically and numerically. - E

Numeracy sufficient to perform basic calculations. - E

Ability to remain calm, polite and customer focused under pressure. - E

Ability to offer excellent customer service including the ability to deal tactfully with people. - E

Qualifications and Training

At least a GCSE grade C in English or the equivalent - E

At least a GCSE grade C in Maths or the equivalent. - E

European Computer Driving Licence or some other equivalent entry level computer skills certificate. - D

Further Terms and Conditions for Administration/Managerial Support Roles

Hours of Work
The full time hours of work for this role are 40 hours per week.

Probationary Period
Appointments of new staff are subject to a probationary period of 6 months, starting from the first day of employment and ending 6 calendar months later.

Annual Leave
The full time holiday entitlement for this role is 25 days per annum plus UK bank holidays.

Notice
The amount of notice of termination of employment for this post is initially a minimum of 4 weeks. This rises to one week of notice for each year of completed continuous service up to a maximum of 12 weeks after 12 years of continuous service.

The amount of notice an employee is required to give to terminate employment is 4 weeks.

Last Saved: Thu 08 Oct 2015 09:22:11 pm

Please note that this is a fictitious job description. It is not for a real vacancy. It relates to a fictitious job created on an HR system simulation.