Getting an AI-drafted employment contract checked

An employment contract produced with an AI drafting tool may be written on a US model: at-will employment, termination without notice, a probationary period that removes rights, an arbitration clause and a non-compete for the whole country. English employment law requires a written statement of particulars with prescribed contents, minimum notice, paid holiday, working time limits and a dismissal process, and none of those can be contracted out of. I review the contract against the Employment Rights Act 1996 and the statutory minimums, and return it marked up with tracked changes, a clean copy and a written explanation of the changes, for a fixed fee of £495 in three working days.

Who this is for

Employers in England and Wales that have drafted an employment contract using an AI tool, for a first employee, a new role or a template for the business, and want it checked and corrected before it is issued. The review is of the client's own document; a staff handbook and policies are separate documents the review identifies where they are needed.

What the review checks in an AI-drafted employment contract

The written particulars the law requires on day one

An employer must give an employee a written statement of particulars on or before the first day of employment under section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, containing the items the section lists: the parties, the start date, pay and its intervals, hours and days, holiday entitlement, sick pay, other benefits, probation, notice, job title, place of work, training, and the collective agreements that apply, with a note about disciplinary and grievance procedures under section 3. An AI draft may cover some of those and omit the rest, and the review completes the statement so that the contract does the job the Act requires.

US employment concepts that have no place in an English contract

At-will employment does not exist in England: an employee is entitled to minimum notice under section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, one week per complete year of service up to twelve weeks, and to a fair dismissal process once the qualifying period is met, which the Employment Rights Act 2025 is changing as it is phased in. An arbitration clause does not remove the right to bring a tribunal claim, and a probationary period does not remove statutory rights. The review removes each US concept and replaces it with the English provision: notice, probation with a review, and a reference to the disciplinary procedure.

Working time, holiday, pay and deductions

The contract must respect the 48-hour average working week under regulation 4 of the Working Time Regulations 1998 unless the employee opts out in writing, the entitlement to 5.6 weeks' paid holiday under regulation 13, the rates set under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, and the rule in section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 that deductions from wages need statutory or contractual authority or the worker's written agreement. An AI draft may set holiday below the statutory minimum, provide for unpaid overtime that takes pay below the minimum wage, or allow deductions without authority. The review corrects each and adds the opt-out as a separate signed document where the employer wants one.

Sick pay, pensions, benefits and the equality provisions

The review checks the sick pay provision against statutory sick pay, the pension clause against the employer's automatic enrolment duties under the Pensions Act 2008, and the benefits clause for the employer's right to change providers. It checks the equality and dignity at work provisions, since the employer is liable for discrimination and harassment by its employees under the Equality Act 2010 and owes a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment under section 40A, and it checks that the contract refers to the policies that discharge those duties rather than trying to contain them.

Notice, termination, garden leave and payment in lieu

The review drafts the notice provisions each way, a payment in lieu of notice clause that lets the employer end the employment without a breach, garden leave, which needs an express clause, and the summary dismissal grounds, and checks that the contract refers to the disciplinary procedure and the ACAS Code of Practice, since a tribunal can adjust awards for an unreasonable failure to follow the Code under section 207A of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992. It also checks the pre-termination negotiation provision in section 111A of the Employment Rights Act 1996 is understood rather than misdescribed.

Restrictive covenants, confidentiality and intellectual property

A non-compete, non-solicitation or non-dealing covenant is enforceable only if it protects a legitimate interest and goes no further than reasonable, and the court may sever words that go too far under Tillman v Egon Zehnder Ltd [2019] UKSC 32. An AI draft's covenant for the whole country for a year or more, applied to every employee, will not be enforced. The review drafts covenants that fit the role, a confidentiality clause with the carve-outs for protected disclosures under Part IVA of the Employment Rights Act 1996, and an intellectual property clause that records the employer's ownership of works made in the course of employment under section 11 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

What it costs

Review of an AI-drafted contract, £495. One contract, returned as a marked-up Word document with my amendments as tracked changes, a clean version with the changes accepted, and a written explanation of the changes. Three working days from payment.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the review of an ai-drafted contract page describes, you accept the Terms of Service at checkout, and I email you within four working hours to get started. If you would rather ask something first, email me.

What you get

• Your own Word document returned with every amendment I consider necessary shown as a tracked change, so you can see exactly what I changed and accept or reject each one
• A clean version with every change accepted, ready to send
• Corrections to anything that is wrong as a matter of English law, unenforceable as drafted, or internally inconsistent
• Missing provisions added where the document has left a gap that matters: usually liability, termination, payment, intellectual property or data
• Comments in the margin where a clause is a commercial choice rather than a legal one, so the decision stays yours
• A written explanation of what I have changed and why, by email or as an attachment if it is lengthy, with anything you should think about before sending it out
• Follow-up questions on the mark-up answered by email, included

What is not included

• A full rewrite. This is a review and amendment of your document, not a replacement for it. If the draft is structurally unsuitable for the deal, I will say so and quote separately for drafting it properly
• A second round of amendments after you have changed the document again, which I can quote for
• Negotiating with the other side
• Advice on the law of any jurisdiction other than England and Wales
• Tax, accounting or regulatory advice
• Reviewing a document the other side drafted, which is the contract review service, at the same price

Questions I am often asked

Our AI-drafted contract says employment is at will and can be ended by either party at any time. Is that lawful?

Not in England, where an employee is entitled to statutory minimum notice and, once qualified, to a fair dismissal process. The review replaces the at-will clause with notice provisions and a payment in lieu clause, and refers to the disciplinary procedure.

The draft gives twenty days' holiday. Is that enough?

The statutory minimum is 5.6 weeks a year including bank holidays, which is 28 days for a full-time employee working a five-day week. The review corrects the entitlement and states how bank holidays are treated.

Can we include a non-compete for all our staff?

You can include one, but it will be enforced only where it protects a legitimate interest and is no wider than reasonable for that role, which for junior staff is likely to be nothing. The review drafts covenants that fit the roles, so that the ones that matter can be enforced.

Related guidance and services

• Review of an AI-drafted contract, £495, the service this page describes
• Employment contracts and handbooks, £595
• Getting an AI-drafted staff handbook checked
• Getting an AI-drafted settlement agreement checked

This page is general guidance for businesses in England and Wales, not advice on your own circumstances. Last reviewed: September 2026. Email geoffrey@caesar.co.uk.