What an Employer Needs To Know About Proposing Employment Contract Changes in England

After employing staff, there may be times when you need to make changes to their employment contracts. Employment contracts are legal agreements between you and your employees that establish the employment relationship. While they set out your legal obligations and your responsibilities as an employer, they also detail your employee’s job role and conditions. After considering whether you need to make changes to an employment contract, you must propose those changes to your employees. This article will explain what you, as an employer, need to know about proposing employment contract changes in England. 

Who To Propose Employment Contract Changes To 

When you wish to change your employment contacts, you must propose the changes to those affected. While this would obviously include your workers, it can also include your workers’ representatives if they have them. 

You must propose employment contract changes to all affected regardless of whether they are:

• absent from work on sick leave or paternity leave; or
• unable to understand the format in which you present the proposals because, for example, English is not their first language.

If you do not propose the changes to all affected, you may unlawfully discriminate.

How To Propose Employment Contract Changes

There are a few points you should consider when proposing employment contract changes. 

How Will You Communicate the Changes? 

Before proposing employment contract changes to your staff, you should consider how you will tell your staff and when might be best. For example, if the contract changes are relevant to individual staff, a private meeting is suitable between you and your employee. 

On the other hand, a joint meeting with you and your staff may be appropriate where the proposed changes apply more widely. You must then hand the proposed changes to staff in written format.

Additionally, when proposing changes to employment contracts, you must give clear information about the changes as early as possible. This helps to:

• provide plenty of time for those affected to consider your proposals;
• allow those affected by the proposed changes to think about their response;
• demonstrate trust with your staff that you are taking time to be interested in their thoughts; and 
• allows time to work together as a team should a disagreement arise regarding the proposed contract changes.

What Will You Communicate?

When proposing employment contract changes, there are specific points you must communicate to those affected. This way, your workers can make an informed decision on their views on the changes. 

The specific points you should communicate include:

• the content of the proposed changes and how you will present them as revised contractual terms;
• who will be affected by the changes;
• your business reasons for making the changes, which should be genuine;
• what you consider will happen to your business if the changes are not carried out;
• how you consider the changes may benefit your staff;
• when you propose to make the changes; and 
• what have you considered an alternative to making the changes. 

When presenting your staff with the proposed employment contract changes, there are points about the employment contract change process which you should inform them about. You should let them know:

• that they must consider your proposals;
• that you will consult with them after doing so;
• how they can respond to your proposals with their thoughts;
• whether you have previously engaged in conversation about the proposals with their representatives; and
• where they can get support regarding the proposals.

What To Avoid When Proposing Employment Contract Changes

When proposing employment contract changes, you may refuse to share specific information because, for example, it is confidential or commercially sensitive. However, you must not refuse to provide the information without good reason. If you do so, your employee could take you to an employment tribunal if you later make the changes.

Also, you should ensure that the proposed changes do not unlawfully discriminate against staff. For example, if you are proposing an employment contract change which affects a member of staff’s disability or are changing working hours to times which affect the ability to get child care. The latter, for example, could be sex discrimination, as females are more likely to be affected by the difficulties this proposes.   

When you propose employment contract changes that you need to propose to a trade union, you must not ignore the Acas Code of Practice on disclosure of information to trade unions for collective bargaining purposes. If you do, you could face legal action.

Key Takeaways

If you need to change your employee’s employment contract, you must propose the change to your workers or their representatives. You should do this as early as possible but sensitively, bearing in mind any potential reaction to the changes. For example, you may want to hold private meetings with employees, and you should follow up on any meetings with written proposals. When giving employment contract change proposals, you should provide specific information about the change, including how your staff may benefit and your genuine business reason for the proposed change. You should also avoid specific actions when proposing employment contract changes, such as proposals which may discriminate.

If you need help understanding proposing employment contract changes in England, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents for a low monthly fee. So call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.

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