Your contract is the whole legal agreement, not just the document headed “contract”. A written statement records important particulars, but terms may also come from an offer, policy, collective agreement, conversation, conduct, statute or established custom.
Use this guide to identify what should have happened, which records should exist and which questions still need an answer.
Key points
- Start with employment status and the exact event.
- Separate contract, policy, statutory right and good practice.
- Ask for reasons and records that can be tested.
- Keep internal and external deadlines on separate calendars.
Diagnosis
Identify the document and the dispute
| Problem | First check |
|---|---|
| No written statement | Employees and workers are normally entitled to a principal statement on or before their first day. |
| A term is missing | Check whether it appears in another incorporated document or must be supplied within two months. |
| The written wording differs from what was promised | Keep the job advert, offer, emails and notes of conversations. |
| The employer says a policy can change at any time | Check whether the policy is contractual and whether the specific term has been incorporated. |
Written statement and contract are not the same thing
The written statement of employment particulars is a statutory record of specified information. The contract is broader. It may contain express terms, implied terms and terms incorporated from other documents. Work can begin and a contract can exist even if the employer has not supplied the required statement.
Ask the employer to identify the source of the disputed term. “Company policy” is not a complete answer if it is unclear whether the policy forms part of the contract, is merely guidance, or has changed since you agreed to it.
What should be provided and when
The principal statement should normally be provided to an employee or worker on or before the first day. It includes core matters such as parties, start date, job, place of work, pay, hours, holiday, benefits, probation, training and notice. Some information, including pensions, collective agreements and disciplinary and grievance arrangements, may be provided separately within two months.
A written statement must still comply with the law. Putting an unlawful rate, deduction or restriction in writing does not make it lawful.
Policies, handbooks and collective agreements
A policy can be contractual, non-contractual or contractual only in part. Look for incorporation wording, the subject matter, how changes are made and how the parties have behaved. A collective agreement may also set terms that apply to a group of employees.
Save the version that applied when the event occurred. A later handbook cannot reliably show what the rules said at the time.
When the paperwork is wrong or missing
Start with a focused written request: identify the missing or disputed particular, state what you understand the term to be, attach the source and ask for a corrected statement. A tribunal remedy for failure to provide particulars commonly depends on succeeding in another qualifying claim, so do not assume the paperwork issue is a standalone route to compensation.
What can you realistically ask for?
- A clear written explanation of the decision and the rule used.
- Correction of factual or procedural errors.
- A reconsideration, meeting, appeal or grievance outcome where appropriate.
- Preservation and disclosure of the material needed to understand the decision.
- A specific practical remedy rather than a general request to “deal with it”.
Evidence worth keeping
Preserve original, dated records. Keep a short chronology linking each item to the fact it may prove.
Common employer responses, and what they do not necessarily prove
| Employer says | What to check |
|---|---|
| “If it is not in the contract, it does not exist.” | Terms can arise from several sources. The factual question is what was agreed or incorporated. |
| “The handbook lets us change anything.” | A flexibility or variation clause must be interpreted in context and exercised lawfully. |
| “You worked without objecting, so you agreed.” | Conduct can sometimes imply agreement, but silence or continued work does not answer every dispute, especially where an objection was recorded. |
What to say next
Adapt the wording to the facts. Do not state that a right definitely applies until you have checked status, eligibility, dates and the correct legal route.
What to do
A practical next-step plan
- Record the event, decision, date, people involved and practical effect.
- Identify the contractual, policy and statutory routes separately.
- Request the precise reason and the smallest useful evidence set.
- Use the internal process and ask for a defined remedy.
- Protect the Acas and tribunal deadline independently of internal discussions.
Escalation and time limits
For most employment tribunal claims whose time limit starts on or after 1 October 2026, the primary limit is now six months minus one day. If the time limit started before that date, the earlier three-month-minus-one-day framework usually continues to apply. Some claims have different limits, including statutory redundancy pay, and interim relief in certain dismissal cases can require action within seven days.
An internal request, grievance, disciplinary process or appeal does not normally stop the tribunal clock. Notify Acas within the applicable limit. Early conciliation pauses the clock only within the statutory scheme, and the calculation can be technical where there are several acts or respondents.
Official sources
Check the current source material.
- Acas: Employment contracts and the law ↗
- Acas: The right to a written statement ↗
- Acas: What the written statement must include ↗
ConsumerWise provides general information rather than individual legal advice. Check current rules, dates, status and eligibility against the official source before acting.