Business

Service Agreements & Contracts of Employment

Service Agreements and Employment Contracts are important when you are recruiting any employee. Our specialist solicitors have the legal advice and guidance needed to get the right legal framework in place to create productive relationships and protect your organisation.

If there are disputes, it is fundamentally important to have clear and concise documentation to protect your position and set out the employee’s obligations and duties for the benefit of all parties involved. Most situations can be quickly resolved or entirely avoided with the right foundations in place, helping to mitigate any potential risks.

Glanvilles expert service agreements and contracts of employment solicitors have worked with various businesses to put effective provisions in place for the future. No matter whether your business’s circumstances are straightforward or complex, we have the expertise to provide practical advice and support.

Our expert service agreements & contracts of employment solicitors can provide advice and guidance on matters including:

  • Contracts for service
  • Senior executive agreements
  • Employment contracts 

When you instruct the Glanvilles team, we will carefully listen to your situation and requirements and, from this, be able to provide advice tailored specifically to you, ensuring any uncertainty you may have is diminished.

Get in touch with our service agreements and contracts of employment solicitors in Chichester, Fareham and Havant

Contact our expert service agreements and contracts of employment solicitors in ChichesterFareham or Havant or fill in our simple online enquiry form for a quick response.

The Glanvilles guide to service agreements and contracts of employment

Are directors employees?

Whether a director is an employee or not will completely depend on certain factors. They will not automatically be made an employee but instead are known as office holders as they hold an office in the business.

However, this changes if the director of the company is employed under contract with the business. In these circumstances, the director will be considered an employee in addition to the director. 

Contract of service vs contract for service

A contract of service is where an employer and employee agree for the employer to provide work for the employee to carry out. The employee will be a permanent part of the business and carry out their work directly for the employer. In the contract of service, the employees key job terms and requirements will be clearly set out, including matters such as hours of work.

A contract for service differs from a contract of service. It instead relates to a service between a business and a service provider, who will provide a service to the business’s customers. The person carrying out the service will not be employed directly by the business.

What is a contract for services?

As explained above, a contract for services is where a service provider carries out a service for a business, but to its customers. A clear example of where a contract for service is used is caterers hired by a wedding venue. The service may be a one off or done on a short- or long-term basis, but often only when required.

What are the benefits of a contract for service?

If you choose to hire a service provider for your business, you want to guarantee everything is going to be done correctly and to the best possible standard. However, only providing verbal communication of what you want can mean that this doesn’t happen.

A service agreement will do the opposite, allowing the business to set out exactly what is required of the service provider. For this reason, a service agreement provides many benefits.

Examples of the benefits include:

  • The service provider knows exactly what is required of them
  • It can help to prevent future disputes
  • It reduces risk

Are contract terms legally binding?

Yes, the terms set in a contract are legally binding and must be abided to, as long as four elements are included, and this is the contract offer, acceptance, consideration and intention for the terms set out to be legal relations.

If the four elements are not met, the contract terms may not be legally binding.

Most terms held within a contract that are legally binding will include:

  • Name of the employer and employee
  • Address of the employer and employee
  • Date of when employment began
  • Job title
  • Responsibilities/duties of the employee
  • When the employee will be paid, such as weekly, monthly, etc.
  • Terms and conditions concerning the job, examples include work location, overtime, working hours, etc.
  • Holiday entitlement, sick pay, etc.

How we deal with service agreement and contract of employment issues

Service agreements

When your business needs a third party to provide a service to your customers, it requires a significant amount of trust, with hopes that the service provided will be top-quality and what was promised to you.

This trust can be supported with a service agreement to ensure everything runs smoothly and without issue, in addition to having the agreement as a provision should something not go to plan. It also helps to ensure that the service provider knows what is required of them and has it written down instead of only hearing it verbally.

Our solicitors can assist you in drafting a service agreement, making sure the work needing to be performed is clearly set out, in addition to their responsibilities. We will ensure it meets your interests in the best way and always make sure it provides complete protection in the event things don’t quite work out in the unforeseeable future.

Senior Executive Agreements

It can take a long time to find and recruit an individual who is going to add real value to your business. To protect your investment and your company, it is essential that this key employee signs up for an effective director service agreement at an early stage.

To meet your individual needs, we will tailor your service agreement. Examples of the clauses covered include:

  • Notice periods
  • Restrictions on other employment
  • Confidential information
  • Intellectual property
  • Restrictive covenants

Employment Contracts

The solicitors at Glanvilles can produce any type of employment related contract or policy for you. The policies we prepare range from disciplinary and grievance to policies that range from data protection to anti-bribery to health and safety, to name just a few. We advise on which policies should form a binding contractual commitment and which need to be non-contractual to give necessary flexibility.

Regular reviews of contracts are always necessary, especially in terms of post-termination clauses. Post-termination restrictions that are not kept up to date can very easily become unenforceable, leaving the company's property in terms of database, clients, and know-how at risk.

Why choose Glanvilles’ service agreements and contracts of employment solicitors?

When you choose to instruct the Glanvilles team on your service agreements and contracts of employment matters, you can be certain to receive a bespoke service. The team have years of collective expertise assisting all types of clients working in various sectors with their needs and requirements.

We are proud to be recognised for our top-quality service, including client care and practice management, through the Law Society Lexcel accreditation. This provides reassurance to our clients that we always have your best interests at the heart of what we do, no matter your circumstances.

The Glanvilles’ client service promise

When you use our service agreement and contracts of employment service, we promise:

  • Our staff will be friendly, respectful and attentive.
  • Your concerns will be listened to, your questions answered, and your options explained in plain English.
  • The cost of dealing with your requirements will be made clear to you from the outset.
  • We will answer your phone calls and emails promptly.
  • We will keep you regularly updated at all times.

Get in touch with our expert service agreement and contracts of employment solicitors in Chichester, Fareham and Havant

Contact our highly experienced service agreement and contracts of employment solicitors in ChichesterFareham or Havant or fill in our simple online enquiry form for a quick response.