Workplace and Environment

Approval of paternity leave request Our form will help ensure that you formally approve a request for a period of paternity leave and that you confirm the employee's rights to both leave and pay.Request grantedUse our form to respond to an employee's w... Read more

Lay-off and short time working clauseConsider inserting a lay-off and short time working clause into employment contracts enabling you to temporarily lay off an employee with no work and no pay, or to temporarily reduce their hours/days of work during... Read more

Flexible job duties clauseA flexible job duties clause means you can require an employee to undertake additional or alternative tasks and duties as the needs of the business dictate, provided they are within the employee's capabilities and skills base... Read more

Unauthorised absence policyOur policy statement makes it clear that unauthorised absences will not be tolerated and will be dealt with under the disciplinary procedure. Whilst this may seem obvious, including it in the staff handbook makes the posit... Read more

Demotion clauseAs an alternative to formally warning or dismissing an employee for misconduct or poor work performance, it is permissible to provide in the contract that they will be demoted on a temporary basis.When can you demote?Demotion is the ... Read more

Commission clauseThe salaries of employees who are in sales roles is often comprised of a basic element plus guaranteed commission which is calculated according to the number of successful sales made. In this situation, the employee's written statemen... Read more

Staff discounts policyIf you run a shop or a retail sales business and you want to offer your employees a staff discount on the goods and products you sell, use our staff discounts policy for this purpose. It's common to give discounts in the region o... Read more

Zero-hours contract clauseA zero-hours contract is generally one where you're not obliged to provide the worker with any work at all and the worker is not obliged to accept any hours offered. There are no guaranteed minimum hours of work. Therefore, i... Read more

Retirement policyOur retirement policy provides that you do not operate a compulsory retirement age and instead you operate a flexible retirement policy that permits employees to voluntarily choose to retire at any time. This follows on from the abol... Read more

Season ticket loans policyTravelling to work by public transport is costly and therefore many employers provide season ticket loans. This enables the employee to buy an annual travel ticket paid for by their employer but with the cost then deducted f... Read more