by
Ryan Clement, barrister
LIKE WITH MOST CONTRACTS, a contract of employment consists of three key components: offer, acceptance and consideration.
THE OFFER is made by the prospective employer, which is ACCEPTED by the prospective employee. CONSIDERATION would be, amongst other things, the employee agreeing to undertake the work that is stipulated in the contract and the employer agreeing to pay the employee for the work that the employee undertook.
A CONTRACT may be in writing ✍🏾 or made orally 🗣️. Ideally, of course, it should be made in writing, so as to avoid any confusion and any dispute over what the agreed terms were; all the parties would have to do is pick up a document 📃 and see what was agreed 🤝 at the material time.
NOT ALL TERMS OF A CONTRACT need to be expressed. Some terms could be implied, and they are implied by law – I shall deal with customs & practice, and the person on the Clapham Omnibus in another blog! For example, as a matter of law, you cannot pay below the national minimum or living wage. So when a party says, “I do not have a contract,” what they really mean is that they do not have a written contract of employment. 😳 Otherwise, why did they get out of bed and go to work Monday to Friday or Saturday and Sunday? And the flip side of that is, why did this organisation pay them money after they went to work on Monday to Friday or Saturday and Sunday? 🤔
THEREFORE, whether it’s oral or it’s written, it’s still a binding contract.
Copyright © Ryan Clement 2024
Ryan Clement 