The Employment Contract
Published in Labour Law · 5 July 2022
Have you signed a contract of employment with your employees?
There are many employers who avoid employment contracts and choose not to formalise the employment relationship. However, in terms of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), an employer is obligated to provide the employee with a written contract of employment. If a contract of employment is not in place, this does not mean that an employer can do as he or she pleases with an employee.
A contract of employment is a tool that can be used to monitor and manage an employee and provides protection to the employer when disciplining an employee. This document regulates the terms and conditions of employment between the employer and employee, most notably, the behaviour of the employee in relation to the workplace and his or her duties and responsibilities.
Ideally, a contract of employment should be accompanied with a disciplinary code and a policy/ procedure document. This makes it easier to take action against an employee as the employee has been made aware of the rules and regulations of the workplace. In the absence of a contract there is no proof that an employee is aware of company rules, and this could make reprimanding an employee very difficult. For example: a vehicle policy will ensure that employees who drive a company vehicle will be liable for traffic fines incurred while they are driving; or a damages policy to state that a general worker will be liable for damaging any company stock.
There are several different types of contracts of employment and the most commonly used are the permanent contract and a fixed term or limited duration contract. There are certain legal rules that apply to both types of contracts and there are various sub-categories of fixed term contracts – an example of this would be a project-based contract.
By reducing the employment relationship to writing, there can be no confusion later on as to what was promised, what was not promised and what is expected of the employee. Employees tend to forget that employers often overlook mistakes, misconducts and certain benefits given to them from time to time – this is one of the reasons why it is so important to have a written employment contract in place.
An employee should be made to sign a contract when they begin working for you, however even if no contract was signed at that time, it is important that one is signed as soon as possible. It is impossible to cover all the important areas of an employment relationship in a verbal agreement and even then, the employee can still dispute a verbal discussion. The implementation of a contract of employment leaves no doubt in the mind of the employee or employer of exactly where each party stands.
This article does not constitute legal advice and is based on the author’s interpretation of legislation and case law. Book a consult for legal advice or assistance pertaining to your specific matter.