What’s new?
From 1 April 2024 the right to a written statement of employment particulars and an itemised pay statement has been extended to all “workers” not just employees. This means that employers, if they have not already done so, will need to provide a written statement of employment particulars to all workers as well as employees. Similarly, itemised pay statements will now also need to be issued to workers.
In addition to the above, there are a number of changes to the information which must be included in the written particulars. The table below summarises all the prescribed information that must be provided to employees and workers to ensure compliance with section 8 of the Employment Act 2006 (the “Act”). The text in bold sets out the additional particulars which need to be supplied/changes since 1 April 2024. (Note: where the term “worker” is used in the table, this means the requirement also applies to employees; some requirements apply to employees only, as indicated.)
Written particulars of employment must be issued to an employee/worker no later than 4 weeks after commencing work. Note that, from 1 April 2025, written particulars of employment will become a ‘day one’ right, and therefore must be issued on the first day of work commencing (or, in advance) (See also our article on “Contracts”).
| Particulars |
| Names of the employer and the worker |
| Date employment began |
| Date when “continuous” employment began (employees only) |
| Scale/rate of remuneration or the method of calculating remuneration |
| The intervals at which remuneration is paid, ie weekly, monthly, other specified interval etc. |
| The method by which the itemised pay statement and, if applicable, standing statement of fixed deductions, is given |
| Any terms and conditions relating to hours of work, including:
· Normal working hours · The days of the week the worker is required to work; and · Whether or not such hours or days may be variable, and if so, how they vary or how that variation is to be determined |
| Any terms and conditions relating to entitlement to holidays, including public holidays, and holiday pay |
| Any terms and conditions relating to incapacity for work due to sickness or injury, including any provision for sick pay |
| Any other paid leave eg family related leave |
| Pensions and pension schemes |
| Any other benefits provided by the employer |
| Length of notice which the worker is required to give, and which they are entitled to receive, to terminate the contract |
| Job title / brief job description |
| Duration of employment if not permanent |
| Place of work or, where the worker is required or permitted to work at various places, an indication of that and of the address of the employer |
| Any collective agreements which directly affect the terms and conditions of employment |
| Where the worker is required to work outside the Isle of Man for a period of more than one month:
· the period for which they are to work outside the Island; · the currency in which remuneration will be paid whilst working outside the Island; · any additional remuneration payable to them or any other benefits that will be provided by reason of their working outside the Island; and · any terms and conditions relating to their return to the Island |
| Details of disciplinary rules and procedures (or reference to where these can be found) |
| The identity (specified by description or otherwise) of the person to whom the worker can apply if they are dissatisfied with a disciplinary decision or to seek redress of any grievance |
Do the written particulars have to be contained in one statement?
For new starters, it is likely to be most efficient for employers to update their current contract template to include the additional information which is now required to be supplied. Having the terms in a single document inevitably makes life easier from the perspective of administering the employment relationship. (You could still have, however, separate disciplinary and grievance policies and other extrinsic sources of information linked by reference in the main document, though[1].)
For existing employees, there are other means of achieving a compliant contract or statement of written terms incorporating the new requirements. Section 11 of the Act provides that the requirement to give a statement under section 8 of the Act can be met by issuing an employment contract comprised of “one or more documents” as long as the content set out in the table above is covered overall and the “note” for the purposes of section 8(5) is made available to them. The latter is the requirement to give certain information about disciplinary rules/procedure and to identify someone to whom an employee may address a grievance etc.
Where, subsequent to issuing a contract, there are changes in the prescribed employment particulars, an employer does not necessarily have to reissue the document in full. Instead, the obligation is to issue a written statement of changes – for example, annual pay increases or a change to job title can still be confirmed via side letter. Above all, the requirement is for the written particulars to be kept up to date, so having one or more documents which, collectively and comprehensively, cover the requirements of section 8 should be sufficient.
Exceptions to the requirement to provide “written particulars”
There are a few exceptions under the Act whereby an employer does not have to provide written particulars, namely:
- where a worker is employed for less than 4 weeks; or
- workers whose employment is within 6 months of the ending of an earlier period of employment with the same employer and for which a statement was provided and where the particulars have not changed.
Other terms that an employer may wish to include
Whilst there are certain provisions which must be included within in a written statement, as set out above, there are also terms you may wish to include that can create a lot of value as regards anticipating issues and protecting the employer’s interests. For example, an employer may look to include provisions relating to:
- remote working
- garden leave
- payment in lieu of notice
- ability to deduct wages for overpaid holiday, training etc.
- restrictive covenants
- intellectual property assignments
- flexibility (employer’s right to vary)
How long should an employer retain a copy of the contract of employment?
Under section 9(4) of the Act, a copy of the contract must be kept for a minimum of 6 months after the end of the employment in question. However, employers may wish to retain a copy of an employee’s contract or written statement of terms and conditions for longer than this to reflect the period within which claims can be brought under contract law before they become time barred, ie generally 6 years from the relevant elements of a claim accruing.
Absent or non-compliant written particulars
Interestingly, the position on employers not providing written particulars or not providing compliant written particulars is not on all fours with the UK. In the UK, an individual can apply to the employment tribunal for a declaration that either they have not received a written statement or that the written particulars are not in conformity with the legislation. However, this is not a stand-alone “claim” and would have to be brought in conjunction with a statutory employment rights complaint to give rise to compensation.
In the Isle of Man, the tribunal can also make a declaration that a written statement has not been provided or is deficient in terms of the requirements under section 8 of the Act. However, in addition, it has powers to make awards directly on a complaint under section 17 of the Act without there having to be proceedings on foot involving a substantive statutory employment right. Accordingly, the tribunal may direct the employer to pay the worker up to 4 weeks’ pay or up to 2 weeks’ pay for absent or non-compliant written particulars respectively (the amount of a week’s pay being currently capped at £540 for these purposes).
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