Written Statement of Employment Particulars template
A written statement of employment particulars is the document UK employers must give each new employee setting out the core terms of the job — the parties, start date, pay, hours, holiday, place of work, notice, and the other particulars listed in the Employment Rights Act 1996. It is due on or before the first day of employment.
The statement is often the first document a tribunal, a dispute, or a payroll query turns on. Getting it issued on time, complete, and consistent with what was actually agreed removes an entire category of avoidable arguments about what the deal was.
This template gives you a complete, ready-to-edit statement covering every day-one particular, written so you can issue it as a standalone document or fold it into a fuller contract of employment.
Full text, ready to adapt.
Highlighted fields are placeholders — replace them with your organisation's specifics. A starting point, not legal advice.
Written Statement of Employment Particulars
Policy · HR & People
1. Purpose and scope
This document is the written statement of employment particulars issued by {{org.name}} under section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Issue one to every new employee and worker on or before their first day, and keep a signed copy on file.
2. Parties, start date and continuous employment
Employer: {{org.name}}, of [registered address]. Employee: [full name], of [address].
Your employment begins on [date]. [No previous employment counts towards your period of continuous employment. / Your period of continuous employment includes previous employment with [previous employer] and began on [date].]
3. Job title and duties
You are employed as [job title], reporting to [role]. A description of the role's main duties is [attached / set out in the job description dated [date]]. {{org.name}} may ask you to carry out other reasonable duties within your competence from time to time.
[The employment is permanent. / The employment is for a fixed term expected to end on [date].]
4. Pay
Your pay is [amount] per [hour/year], paid [monthly/weekly] in arrears on [date/day] by [method, e.g. bank transfer], and will never be less than the applicable rate under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998. [Details of overtime, bonus, or commission arrangements: [terms].]
5. Hours and place of work
Your normal hours are [number] per week, worked [days and times]. [Describe any variability: shift patterns, rotas, and how they are notified — including any terms about working Sundays, nights, or overtime.]
Your normal place of work is [address]. [You may be required to work at [other locations / from home under the hybrid working arrangements]. / Any periods of work outside the UK lasting more than a month, and the terms that apply: [details or "not applicable"].]
6. Holiday, sickness and other leave
You are entitled to [number] days' paid annual leave per leave year [including / plus] bank holidays — at least the statutory minimum of 5.6 weeks. The leave year runs from [date] to [date]. Holiday terms, including what happens on termination, are set out in the annual leave policy.
If you cannot work because of sickness, the reporting procedure and sick pay terms in [the absence policy / the following terms: [details]] apply. Other paid leave — including family-related leave such as maternity, paternity, adoption, and shared parental leave — is set out in [policy/handbook location].
7. Probation, notice and ending employment
[Your appointment is subject to a probationary period of [length], during which the conditions in the probation policy apply, including a shorter notice period of [length]. / There is no probationary period.]
After probation, the notice you must give {{org.name}} is [period], and the notice {{org.name}} must give you is [period] — in each case never less than the statutory minimum. The disciplinary and grievance procedures that apply to your employment are in [location], as required to be identified in this statement.
8. Pensions, training and other particulars
Pension: you will be [automatically enrolled into / eligible to join] the {{org.name}} pension scheme with [provider], subject to the scheme rules and current automatic enrolment law.
Training: {{org.name}} provides [required training, e.g. induction and role-specific training], paid for by {{org.name}}. [Any training the employee must complete and pay for themselves: [details or "none"].] Benefits: [list all benefits, e.g. staff discount, wellbeing scheme, or "none beyond those stated"]. Collective agreements affecting your terms: [details or "none"].
9. Issuing, changes and records
Two copies are issued: sign and return one to [role] and keep one. {{org.name}} notifies changes to any particular in writing as soon as possible after the change — check current official guidance for the notification deadline.
Signed statements and change notices are kept on the employee's file in [system] for [period]. Owner of this template: [name/role]. Next review due: [date].
How to adapt this template.
Prepare the statement during onboarding paperwork, not on day one — the deadline is on or before the first day, and late issue is a statutory failure.
Copy the agreed terms from the signed offer letter; the statement, the offer, and payroll must all say the same thing.
Fill every [bracketed placeholder] — the law requires each particular to be addressed, even if the answer is "none".
Check the holiday figure against the annual leave policy and the statutory 5.6-week minimum before issuing.
Get a signed copy back and file it; an unsigned statement still counts, but a signed one ends arguments.
Diarise reissuing a change notice whenever pay, hours, role, or place of work changes.
Turn this template into trained, proven behaviour
A policy in a drawer proves nothing. In TrainedTeam this template becomes assigned training with knowledge checks, e-signature acknowledgments, version history, and an audit-ready record of who completed what, when.
Written Statement of Employment Particulars template FAQs
Is a written statement of employment particulars a legal requirement?
Yes. Under the Employment Rights Act 1996, employers must give employees and workers a written statement of particulars on or before their first day of employment. It is one of the few HR documents that is required by statute rather than best practice.
Is the written statement the same as an employment contract?
No. The contract is the whole agreement, much of which can be oral or spread across documents; the statement is the statutory written record of specific particulars. Many employers issue a full written contract that includes everything the statement must cover — that satisfies the duty.
What must the written statement include?
The particulars listed in the Employment Rights Act 1996: parties, start date and continuous employment, pay, hours and variability, holiday, place of work, job title, probation, notice, other paid leave, benefits, pensions, training requirements, and where the disciplinary and grievance procedures are found. Most items must be in one principal document.
What happens if we issue it late or not at all?
Failing to issue a compliant statement is a statutory breach, and if the employee wins another tribunal claim they can receive an additional award because of it. It also means every dispute about terms starts without an agreed written record — the practical cost is usually bigger than the legal one.
Do we need to tell staff when their particulars change?
Yes. Changes to the particulars must be notified in writing promptly — check current official guidance for the deadline. A short change letter referencing the original statement is enough; reissuing the whole statement is optional.
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