Written Statement of Employment Particulars Template

A comprehensive Section 1 Written Statement must contain the following particulars (s.1(3)–(4) ERA 1996):

• Parties — Full names of the employer and the employee or worker
• Employment start date — The date when employment began
• Continuous employment date — The date the employee's period of continuous employment began (for employees only)
• Pay — Scale, rate or method of calculation, and the intervals at which paid (weekly, monthly, etc.)
• Hours of work — Normal working hours, days of the week required to work, and any variability and how variation is determined
• Holiday entitlement — Including public holidays and accrued holiday pay on termination, sufficient to allow precise calculation
• Job title or brief description — The title of the role or a brief description of the work
• Place of work — Or indication of multiple locations plus the employer's address
• Fixed-term details — If employment is not permanent: expected duration or end date
• Probationary period — Duration and any conditions, if applicable
• Notice periods — Length of notice required from employer and employee (or reference to the law / collective agreement)
• Training entitlement — Mandatory training the employer requires (s.1(4)(j))
• Other benefits — Any benefits provided by the employer that are not already mentioned
• Sick pay and other paid leave — Terms relating to incapacity for work and any paid leave additional to holiday (may refer to a reasonably accessible document)
• Pensions — Pension and pension scheme terms (may refer to a reasonably accessible document)
• Collective agreements — Any collective agreements directly affecting terms
• Disciplinary and grievance procedures — Reference to procedures or a reasonably accessible document where they are set out

Our template is professionally drafted and covers every Section 1 required particular.

Legal and Financial Risks:

• Tribunal compensation uplift: Where an employee or worker brings a successful substantive claim (such as unfair dismissal, discrimination or unauthorised deductions) and was not provided with a compliant Section 1 statement, the tribunal may award an additional 2 to 4 weeks' pay
• Pay disputes: Without a clear written statement of rate, method and intervals, disagreements over what was actually agreed are far harder to resolve
• Notice and termination disputes: If notice periods aren't documented, courts default to statutory minimums under section 86 ERA 1996 — often shorter than the employer intended
• Holiday pay claims: Unclear holiday entitlement wording leads to expensive backdated holiday pay claims and confusion over accrual
• Worker misclassification: Failing to issue a statement to those who legally count as workers (since 6 April 2020) creates risk of reclassification claims
• Probation disputes: Without a documented probationary period and conditions, dismissing during probation becomes harder to evidence

Common Section 1 Disputes:

Working pattern disagreements, notice period confusion, holiday entitlement calculation, probation conditions and outcomes, place of work expectations (especially with remote and hybrid arrangements), and benefit entitlements. A clear Section 1 statement, issued on day one and signed by both parties, prevents most of these.

Comprehensive Section 1 Coverage:

• ✓ Employer and employee/worker names and addresses
• ✓ Worker status selector (employee or worker — wording adapts)
• ✓ Job title and brief description of duties
• ✓ Employment type (permanent / fixed-term with end date)
• ✓ Employment start date
• ✓ Continuous employment date
• ✓ Probationary period and conditions (optional)
• ✓ Pay rate, method and payment intervals
• ✓ Hours of work with working pattern variability
• ✓ Statutory holiday entitlement (5.6 weeks / 28 days) with public holiday handling
• ✓ Place of work with remote and hybrid options
• ✓ Notice periods (statutory s.86 ERA 1996 minimums and contractual)
• ✓ Training entitlement particular (s.1(4)(j) ERA 1996)
• ✓ Pension auto-enrolment reference (Pensions Act 2008)
• ✓ Benefits — repeating items, add as many as needed
• ✓ Sick pay reference
• ✓ Disciplinary and grievance procedure reference
• ✓ Governing law clause (England and Wales)
• ✓ Acknowledgement of receipt block for the employee

Professionally drafted and ready to issue on day one.

Related documents: Many employers also need a Zero Hours Contract for flexible workers, a Permanent Employment Contract, and an Employee Handbook.

Don't Make These Critical Errors:

• Late issue: The statement must be in place on or before the first day of work. The previous two-month grace period was removed when the Employment Rights (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2019 took effect on 6 April 2020.
• Forgetting workers: Since 6 April 2020 the duty extends to workers as well as employees. Casual, agency and zero-hours staff are commonly missed.
• Skipping training entitlement: The training particular has been a required Section 1 item since 6 April 2020. Older templates that omit it are out of date.
• Vague working pattern: "Variable hours" alone is not enough. State the days of the week, whether they are variable, and how variation is determined.
• Missing the continuous employment date: For employees, the date continuous employment began must be stated even if it is the same as the start date.
• No probation conditions: If a probationary period applies, both its duration and any conditions must be set out.
• Failing to update within one month: If any required particular changes after the statement is issued, the employer must give a written statement of the change within one month (ERA 1996 s.4).
• Treating it as the whole contract: The Section 1 statement is evidence of the key terms — not a substitute for the underlying contract of employment, though it is commonly combined with the contract.

Our template guides you through every required particular with sensible defaults you can edit.