Updating employment contracts after a change in the law

Employment law changes every April and October, and the contracts most businesses use were drafted for a version of the law that no longer applies: a probation clause written before the unfair dismissal changes, a holiday clause written before rolled-up holiday pay was permitted, a flexible working clause written when the right started after six months, no mention of the tips law, the sick pay changes or the harassment duty. Updating the contracts means knowing which changes need a new term and which are met by the law applying anyway, notifying the changes properly, and getting existing staff onto the new terms without the dismissal-and-re-engagement route the law now restricts. I update a template for the employer for a fixed fee of £595, delivered in five working days.

Who this is for

Employers in England and Wales whose contracts have not been reviewed for several years, and employers who have heard that the law has changed and want to know what it means for the documents.

What matters in updating employment contracts

Which changes require a new contract and which do not

Statutory rights apply whether or not the contract mentions them, so a contract that is silent on a new right is not unlawful, but a contract that contradicts one is, and a contract that omits particulars the law now requires is deficient; the review should identify the clauses that are now wrong (a probation clause that assumes dismissal without process, a holiday clause with a method the amended regulations do not permit, a deductions clause that breaches the tips law, a clause requiring six months' service before a flexible working request), the particulars that must now be stated, and the clauses the employer would want anyway (shift notice, hybrid working, data), and should leave alone what still works.

The written particulars and the duty to notify changes

Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 lists the particulars that must be given in writing on or before the first day, and section 4 requires the employer to give a written statement of any change in those particulars within one month of the change, so a change to hours, pay, holiday, notice, probation or benefits must be notified in writing even where the contract already allows it; the review should check that the templates contain all the current particulars and should produce the statement of changes for existing staff where the update changes their terms.

Varying contracts by agreement and what happens without it

A contract can be varied by agreement, by a variation clause that allows the employer to make the specific change, or by the employee's conduct in accepting a change over time, and the review should say which route applies to each change: an improvement for the employee (a new right, better holiday) can usually be introduced by notice and accepted by conduct; a change that removes something (a benefit, flexibility the employee valued) needs express agreement after consultation, with the employer explaining the reason; and a unilateral imposition of a detrimental change is a breach that may entitle the employee to resign and claim constructive dismissal.

The restrictions on dismissing and re-engaging

Where employees will not agree a change, employers have historically dismissed on notice and offered re-engagement on the new terms, and the Employment Rights Act 2025 makes a dismissal for refusing a variation automatically unfair in most cases, with a narrow exception for an employer in financial difficulty where the change could not reasonably have been avoided, on a timetable the regulations set, alongside the statutory Code of Practice on dismissal and re-engagement under the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992; the review should treat dismissal and re-engagement as unavailable for most changes and should design the update to be accepted rather than imposed, with collective consultation under section 188 of that Act where twenty or more employees are affected.

The recent changes that most contracts have not caught up with

The changes a review commonly finds missing include the flexible working right from the first day with two requests a year under section 80F of the Employment Rights Act 1996, holiday accrual and rolled-up holiday pay for irregular hours and part-year workers under the amended Working Time Regulations 1998, the passing on and fair allocation of tips under the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023, the duty to prevent sexual harassment under the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, carer's leave under the Carer's Leave Act 2023, neonatal care leave under the Neonatal Care (Leave and Pay) Act 2023, and the Employment Rights Act 2025 changes to statutory sick pay from the first day, paternity and parental leave from the first day, the unfair dismissal qualifying period and the statutory initial period of employment, and zero-hours workers' rights, each on its own commencement date; the review states which apply to the employer's workforce and what each needs in the documents.

Rolling out the new contracts across the workforce

The update should produce the revised template, a statement of changes for existing staff under section 4 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 where their terms change, a covering explanation that gives the reason for each change, a consultation process proportionate to the change (individual meetings for detrimental changes, collective consultation where the numbers require it), a signature or acknowledgement process with a record of who has agreed, and a date from which the new terms apply, with the handbook updated at the same time so that the policies the contracts refer to match; a contract update sent as an attachment with no explanation is the one staff do not sign.

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

Our contracts are five years old. Do we have to replace them?

Not replace, update: the clauses that now contradict the law, the particulars that must now be stated, and the terms the business wants. Statutory rights apply regardless; the contract should not contradict them.

Can we just dismiss staff who refuse the new terms and re-hire them?

Not for most changes, since the 2025 Act makes that dismissal automatically unfair outside a narrow exception. The update is designed to be agreed, with consultation and a reason for each change.

Do we have to tell staff in writing when their terms change?

Within one month of the change, in writing, for the particulars the Act lists. The update produces the statement of changes alongside the new template.

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 with a probation period
• Getting an AI-drafted employment contract checked

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.