Oyster policy is denoted in purple.
Statutory
Required Terms
Employers must include the following terms in the employment agreement in order for it to be valid:
- The names of the employer and employee;
- The start date of the employee;
- Payment terms and amount;
- Vacation;
- Works hours;
- Sick pay provisions;
- Pension schemes;
- Length of notice period;
- Any applicable CBAs;
- Job title; and
- Work place.
For purposes of the employment agreement, no local address or social security/tax number is required. The employment agreement may not be backdated. It must state the date on which the employee will be paid every month, including if the employee will not be paid until the second month of employment because he or she started in the middle of the first month.
Before hiring employees, an employer must register with His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs .
Each new hire should be given a privacy notice at the outset of their employment detailing the information that the employer is required to collect, how it will be stored, and how it will be used.
Employment agreements must be in writing and can be signed using a standard electronic signature.
Oyster local employment contracts are designed to be locally compliant out of the box and are iterated on over hundreds of hires. The Oyster way is designed to be simpler, faster and increase the protection of working through us as a partner.
While our agreements allow various options to be chosen from, non-standard employment terms aren’t recommended as these add additional risk to an employment and dramatically slow down the initial hiring and onboarding timelines. All allowed changes are captured in our standard agreements.
Oyster’s Employment Agreements, whether fixed-term or indefinite term, must be formalized in writing, and communicated to team members for signature.
Because Oyster is a fully distributed company, a Remote Work Schedule is entered into and sets the remote working conditions (including work schedules, expectations, equipment, expenses/work from home allowance).
The Oyster Confidentiality & Intellectual Property Agreement (CIPA) is designed to protect the rights of our clients in a simple and scalable way.
Employment agreements can only be signed electronically.
Fixed-Term Contracts
A fixed term contract which expires on a fixed date or upon the happening of an event is permitted. A fixed-term contract can also be terminated by notice during the fixed term if it is drafted that way.
If the employer does not want to renew the employee's contract, this will amount to a termination by the employer under UK law. The employer must therefore have a fair reason for not renewing the contract.
Where no agreement has been reached as to a new fixed term or as to the terms of an indefinite agreement, but employment continues, the law will imply a reasonable notice period, to be given on either side, calculated by reference to various factors, including the type of work and the employee's length of service and seniority.
If the employer does not want to renew the employee's contract (whether on the same terms, or at all), this will amount to a termination by the employer under UK law. The employer must therefore have a fair reason for not renewing the contract.
Where no agreement has been reached as to a new fixed term or as to the terms of an indefinite agreement, but employment continues, the law will imply a reasonable notice period, to be given on either side, calculated by reference to various factors, including the type of work and the employee's length of service and seniority.
Employees who have been continuously employed for four years or more on a series of successive fixed-term contracts are automatically deemed to be permanent employees (that is, employed on an indefinite contract) unless the continued use of a fixed-term contract can be objectively justified (which is rare).
Customary
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Best in Class
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