Employment contract for an office manager

An office manager does a bit of everything, which is the problem with the contract: a duties clause that lists ten things is wrong by the second month, and one that says 'such duties as the employer requires' describes no job at all. The contract has to describe a role defined by its breadth, set the authority the office manager has to spend and to instruct suppliers, carry the keyholder, safety and first aid responsibilities, and recognise that the role sees payroll, personnel files and everyone's business. I draft that contract for the employer for a fixed fee of £595, delivered in five working days, as a template for the grade.

Who this is for

Small and medium-sized businesses in England and Wales employing an office manager, operations manager, practice manager or administrator who runs the office and supports the rest of the business.

What matters in an office manager's contract

The breadth of the role and the duties clause

The contract should describe the role by its areas (facilities, suppliers, administration, HR support, finance support, IT liaison, reception) with the employer's right to vary the duties within the role as the business requires, rather than by an exhaustive list or an open-ended formula, and should state the reporting line and the people the office manager supervises; the written particulars under section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 require the job title or a brief description, and a description that reflects the breadth is more useful to both sides than a title.

Authority over spend, suppliers and the office

The contract should state the office manager's authority to order supplies, instruct contractors and commit the employer to supplier contracts (within a budget and a per-item limit, with contracts above a stated value or for a term beyond a stated period requiring approval and signed on the employer's terms), the rules on expense claims and petty cash, and the obligation to obtain competitive quotes where the policy requires; an office manager who renews a photocopier lease for five years without authority has bound the employer, and the limit should be a term the employee has agreed.

Keys, systems and the information the role holds

The contract should record the keyholder responsibility (alarm codes, opening and closing, call-outs and the payment or time off for them), the office manager's administrator access to systems and the obligation to use it only as authorised, confidentiality covering the business's affairs, its staff and its clients, and the handover of keys, codes, passwords and records on leaving; the office manager knows what everyone earns and where everything is, and the confidentiality clause should be drafted for that.

Health and safety, first aid and fire roles

Where the office manager is the employer's competent person, first aider, fire marshal or display screen assessor, the contract should state the responsibilities, the training the employer provides under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 and the regulations made under it (first aid, fire safety under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005, display screen equipment under the Health and Safety (Display Screen Equipment) Regulations 1992), and the limits of the role, because the duties remain the employer's and the office manager carries them out; an office manager appointed as fire marshal without training is the employer's failure, not the employee's.

HR administration and the data protection obligations

Where the role includes HR administration (personnel files, absence records, payroll data, recruitment, right to work checks under the Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006), the contract should require compliance with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018 in handling staff data, special category data (health, absence) under the employer's policy, and the retention rules, and should state the confidentiality that attaches to personnel matters; an office manager who discusses a colleague's sickness record is the data breach the clause addresses.

Hours, pay and the particulars

The contract should state the hours, with flexibility for early opening and late closing where the keyholder role requires it and time off in lieu or payment for call-outs, the pay, paid holiday under the Working Time Regulations 1998 with the employer's right to require leave to be taken at stated times where cover matters, sick pay, the workplace pension the Pensions Act 2008 requires, probation and notice with section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 as the floor, the procedures for discipline and grievances, which the handbook sets out, with restrictive covenants limited to confidentiality and a non-solicitation of staff where the role justifies it.

What it costs

Employment contract, £595. One template you can reuse for a grade of staff. Five working days.

Staff handbook and core policies, £995. Five working days.

Buying online forms the engagement on payment. The scope is what the employment contracts and handbooks 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

• A bespoke contract drafted for how you employ people
• Restrictive covenants drafted at a scope a court will uphold
• Confidentiality and intellectual property provisions that put ownership where it belongs
• The statutory particulars, so the document does the job section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 requires it to do
• Flexibility clauses where you genuinely need them, drafted to survive challenge
• Core policies: disciplinary, grievance, sickness absence, equal opportunities, data protection and, increasingly, AI use
• One round of amendments

What is not included

• Acting for employees
• Employment tribunal representation
• Payroll, pensions auto-enrolment and tax
• Immigration and sponsor licence work
• Day to day HR handling, disciplinaries, grievances and redundancy processes

Questions I am often asked

How do we describe a job that changes every week?

By areas rather than tasks, with the employer's right to vary duties within the role. An exhaustive list is wrong by the second month and an open formula describes no job.

Our office manager signed a five-year contract with a supplier. Are we bound?

Probably, if the supplier reasonably believed she had authority. The contract sets the limit and makes exceeding it a breach, which addresses the employee's side; the supplier's side depends on apparent authority.

Can the office manager be our first aider and fire marshal?

They can, with the training the regulations require and the responsibilities stated in the contract. The duties remain the employer's; the office manager carries them out.

Related guidance and services

• Employment contracts and handbooks, £595, the service this page describes
• Consultancy and contractor agreements, £595
• Settlement agreements for employers, £795
• Employment contract for a receptionist
• Employment contract for a bookkeeper

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