Employment contract for warehouse staff

Warehouse work runs on shifts that include nights, involves lifting and machinery that the safety regulations govern, fluctuates with the volume so that employers need the right to lay staff off, and is often done alongside agency workers who are entitled to compare their terms. The contract has to set the shift pattern within the working time rules, pay the premiums the pattern justifies, carry the safety obligations, provide for lay-off and short-time working with the statutory guarantee pay, and keep the employed and agency terms consistent. For £595, fixed, with delivery in five working days, I draft the contract for the employer as a template that can be reused for the grade.

Who this is for

Warehouses, fulfilment centres, distribution depots and logistics operators in England and Wales employing pickers, packers, forklift operators, loaders and shift supervisors.

What matters in a warehouse employee's contract

Shifts, nights and the working time rules

The contract should state the shift pattern (days, nights, rotating), the hours, the notice for changes, rest breaks and daily and weekly rest under the Working Time Regulations 1998, the night worker limits under regulation 6 (an average of eight hours in twenty-four for night workers, with health assessments offered before night work starts and at intervals), the forty-eight hour average with any opt-out signed separately, and the position on compulsory overtime; the written particulars under section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 must state the hours and whether they vary.

Pay, premiums and the minimum wage

The contract should state the basic rate at least the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 rate, shift and night premiums, overtime rates, the pay interval, how clocking and time recording work, and whether time spent on security checks and walking to the work area is paid (it counts as working time for minimum wage purposes where the employer requires it, which the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015 govern); pay structures with multiple premiums are where errors occur, and the contract should state each component.

Manual handling, equipment and the safety duties

The employer's duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 are carried into the contract by requiring the employee to follow the manual handling training and assessments under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, to operate forklifts and equipment only when trained and authorised under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, to wear the personal protective equipment provided under the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992, to report hazards and accidents, and to comply with site rules on traffic, racking and loading; a breach of safety rules should be stated as misconduct, and the contract should say so.

Lay-off, short-time working and guarantee pay

An employer can lay staff off or put them on short time without pay only if the contract contains a lay-off clause, and the contract should contain one with the notice and the conditions, recognising that employees laid off are entitled to statutory guarantee payments for workless days under section 28 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 and may claim a redundancy payment after a stated period of lay-off or short time under the Act; a warehouse whose volumes fall without a lay-off clause has to pay staff for not working or make them redundant, and the clause is what gives the third option.

Agency workers alongside employees

Where the warehouse uses agency staff, those workers are entitled under the Agency Workers Regulations 2010 after twelve weeks in the role to the same basic working and employment conditions (pay, hours, rest, holiday) as the employer's direct recruits doing the same job, and from day one to the same access to facilities and vacancies; the employed staff's contract is the comparator, and the employer should draft it knowing that its terms set the agency workers' entitlement, and should keep bonus and premium structures in a form the agency can apply.

Conduct, searches and the particulars

The contract should contain consent to searches of bags, lockers and vehicles under a stated procedure, the rules on mobile phones and personal items in the work area, drugs and alcohol testing where the employer operates it under a policy, CCTV under the privacy notice, and conduct standards, and should supply the written particulars from day one, probation and notice with section 86 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 as the floor, the disciplinary and grievance procedures, the sick pay terms, at least the statutory payment under the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, pension under the Pensions Act 2008 and the holiday entitlement the Working Time Regulations 1998 give, with any training cost repayment for forklift and other certificates on a sliding scale consented to under section 13 of the 1996 Act.

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

Can we move staff from days to nights?

Only if the contract allows the shift pattern to be changed on notice, which it does with the health assessments and limits night work requires. A contract that fixes days gives no right to impose nights.

Volumes have dropped. Can we send staff home unpaid?

Only with a lay-off clause in the contract, and then with statutory guarantee pay for workless days and the employee's right to claim redundancy after a prolonged lay-off. The contract contains the clause.

Our agency workers want the same bonus as our employees. Do they get it?

After twelve weeks in the role, yes, for pay including bonuses linked to work done. The employed contract sets the entitlement, so it should be drafted with that in mind.

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 driver
• Employment contract for retail staff

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.