Updated April 2026. Reflects the Employment Rights Act 1996 as amended by the Good Work Plan (April 2020) and subsequent regulations.
Hiring your first UK employee feels like a milestone. The legal paperwork that goes with it feels like a chore. Most founders work through it once, get something workable in place, and never look at it again — until the tribunal letter arrives two years later asking why nobody received their written statement of particulars on time.
This guide explains what Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 actually requires in 2026, what counts as compliant, and what the cost is when employers get it wrong.
What is a Section 1 statement?
Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996) requires UK employers to give every employee — and, since April 2020, every worker — a written statement of particulars setting out the key terms of their employment. Since the Good Work Plan reforms took effect on 6 April 2020, this statement must be provided on or before the first day of employment, not within two months as was previously the case.
The statement isn’t itself the contract of employment, technically — but in practice most employers put the statement and the contract together into a single document. That document is what people commonly call “the employment contract.”
What must the statement include?
Section 1 ERA 1996 requires the statement to cover:
Core particulars (in a single document)
- The names of the employer and employee
- The date employment began
- The date continuous service began (if different — e.g. after a TUPE transfer)
- Job title or brief job description
- Place of work, or an indication that the employee may be required to work at various places
- Hours of work and any variable working arrangements
- Pay rate and pay interval (weekly, monthly, etc.)
- Holiday entitlement and holiday pay
- Probation period, if any
- Any benefits beyond pay and holiday
- Notice required from each side
- If not permanent, the expected duration or fixed end date
- Any collective agreements affecting the employment
Supplementary information (can be in a separate document the employee has access to)
- Sickness and sick pay arrangements
- Pension scheme
- Disciplinary and grievance procedures
- Any training the employee must complete
- Information about working outside the UK if the employee is required to do so for more than one month
What’s NOT required (but most contracts include anyway)
The statutory minimum doesn’t require:
- Confidentiality clauses
- Intellectual property assignment
- Post-termination restrictive covenants (non-compete, non-solicit, non-deal)
- Garden leave provisions
- Data protection notices
But most sensible employment contracts include all of these. They protect the employer’s commercial interests and clarify what happens at the messy end of the employment relationship. Skipping them in the name of brevity is a false economy.
The cost of getting it wrong
If the employee brings a tribunal claim — for whatever reason, not just for the missing statement — and the employer hasn’t provided a Section 1 statement (or has provided one that’s materially incomplete), the tribunal can make an additional award of two to four weeks’ pay on top of any award for the substantive claim.
That’s not nothing. For an employee on £40,000 a year, four weeks’ pay is over £3,000 — added to whatever the underlying claim costs you. And the breach itself doesn’t need to be the cause of the claim; it just needs to exist when the claim arrives.
Beyond the financial hit, the procedural failure undermines the employer’s credibility throughout the case. Tribunals look at the overall picture, and an employer who can’t produce a basic Section 1 statement looks like one who cuts corners on other obligations too.
Workers vs employees: who gets one?
Both — since 6 April 2020. Before that, only employees were entitled to a Section 1 statement. The Good Work Plan extended the right to “workers” as well, recognising that the gig-economy workforce often had no written terms at all.
The practical effect: if you engage someone on an irregular basis as a “worker” (not an employee, not a self-employed contractor), you still need to give them a written statement on or before day one. Falling between stools — “they’re not really employees so we didn’t bother” — is no longer an option.
If you’re not sure whether someone is an employee, worker, or self-employed contractor, the answer matters for many other things (tax, holiday pay, statutory rights). For genuine self-employment, see our UK Freelancer / Contractor Agreement instead — different document, different status.
The often-forgotten supplementary documents
The Section 1 statement references — and assumes you have — the supporting policies. The most commonly missing in small businesses:
- Disciplinary procedure. ACAS-aligned, or the tribunal will adjust compensation by up to 25% for unreasonable failure to follow the Code.
- Grievance procedure. Same ACAS Code, same uplift risk.
- Sickness absence policy. Without one, SSP and notification rules can be argued either way.
- Holiday policy. Particularly important if you have overtime, commission or irregular-hours staff (post-Bear Scotland and Harpur Trust v Brazel).
If your statement says “see our disciplinary procedure” and you don’t actually have one, you’ve created a different problem.
Skip the drafting: UK employment contract template
We maintain a UK Employment Contract template that combines the Section 1 written statement with the protective clauses most employers want — restrictive covenants drafted to be enforceable, IP assignment, confidentiality, data protection. Editable Word document plus PDF, generated in under a minute.
Generate a UK Employment Contract — £9 →
If you’re making your first hire and need the supporting policies too, the HR Essentials Bundle includes all seven core HR documents — Offer Letter, Grievance Policy, Disciplinary Policy, Sickness Policy, Holiday Policy, Right to Work Checklist, and Redundancy Letter — for £29. Saves about £34 vs buying separately.
Frequently asked questions
When exactly must the Section 1 statement be given?
On or before the first day of employment. Since 6 April 2020 (Good Work Plan), the previous “within two months” deadline no longer applies. If you offer the role on Friday and the employee starts on Monday, the statement should be in their hands before they begin work.
Does the Section 1 statement need to be signed?
Strictly no — the statutory requirement is that you provide it. In practice, most employers ask the employee to sign and return as evidence of receipt and acceptance of the terms. Recommended, but not legally required for the statement to be valid.
Can I update the statement later?
Yes — for changes to the listed terms, you must give the employee a written statement of the change within one month. Not all changes need consent — some can be unilaterally implemented if the contract permits — but the documented update is required either way.
Are restrictive covenants enforceable in a UK employment contract?
They can be, if reasonable in scope, geography and duration. UK courts apply the restraint of trade doctrine: the employer must show a legitimate business interest to protect (confidential information, customer connections, workforce stability) and that the restriction is no wider than necessary. Most enforceable non-compete clauses are 3-6 months. Non-solicit of customers is typically 6-12 months.
Do I need a separate offer letter as well as a contract?
Not strictly — but it’s the standard pattern. The offer letter sets out the conditional offer (subject to references, right to work, etc.) and the headline terms. The employment contract follows once conditions are met. We have an Offer of Employment Letter template at £9 if useful.
Disclosure: AI Business Kit Docs is our own product. This article is general information about UK employment law, not legal advice. For complex or high-value hires (senior executives, regulated roles, cross-border arrangements), get the contract reviewed by an employment solicitor.