Employment contract

Employment contract

The contract of employment is a document which sets out the rights and obligations of both parties. As a result, the contents and the construction of the contract are of primary importance in determining the extent of the obligations each party has and in deciding when one party is acting outside the scope of the employment contract and is, therefore, in breach.

This subtopic provides guidance to employers and employees on all aspects of the employment contract.

Key precedents

Key precedents include:

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Employment contract basic version
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Employment contract for senior employee
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Executive service agreement
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Executive service agreement (short form)
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Employment contract basic version (Scotland)
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Employment contract for senior employee (Scotland)
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Executive service agreement (Scotland)
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Executive service agreement (short form, Scotland)

Executive service agreement playbook

The Executive service agreement playbook provides guidance for drafting and negotiating an executive service agreement for a director or senior employee. This playbook includes a preferred position and a fallback position for the most commonly-negotiated clauses.

Types of contractual term

Contracts of employment set out the relationship between

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Latest Employment News

Employment weekly highlights—11 December 2025

This edition of Employment weekly highlights includes: (1) a Supreme Court decision on vicarious liability of the Crown in relation to the actions of Scottish sheriffs, (2) an EAT ruling on the treatment of recruitment costs when determining unfavourable treatment in an age discrimination claim, (3) an employment tribunal decision that an employer harassed a gender critical employee in its handling of an argument over access to female changing facilities and a second tribunal case that allowing use of female toilets by transgender women was not discriminatory or harassment, (4) new client guides on bringing and defending employment tribunal claims, disclosure, giving evidence, and unfair and wrongful dismissal, (5) the January 2026 edition of the Industrial Relations Law Reports (IRLR), (6) dates for your diary, and (7) other news items of interest to employment practitioners.

Nurse partially successful in changing room harassment claim

Law360: The Employment Tribunal (ET) has ruled that a gender-critical nurse was harassed by her employer in a dispute about use of a women's changing room by a transgender doctor, but was not harassed by the doctor herself.

Supreme Court dismisses Crown vicarious liability claim against sheriff (X v Lord Advocate)

The Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed an appeal concerning vicarious liability by the Crown for alleged delicts (torts) committed by a Scottish sheriff, ruling that the relationship between sheriffs and the Scottish Government is not akin to employment and that section 2(1)(a) of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947 refers to the Sovereign in official capacity. The judgment confirms the Inner House decision that stage 1 of the vicarious liability test fails because the Scottish Government exercises no control over sheriffs' judicial functions, with the Supreme Court emphasising that judicial independence, enshrined in the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008, constitutes a constitutional principle preventing governmental interference with judicial decision-making. Helena Ifeka, barrister at Cloisters Chambers, discusses the implications of the judgment, and highlights aspects of the decision which are also likely to have an impact outside of employment law.

Allowing use of female toilets by transgender women not discriminatory or harassment

Law360: A female engineer has failed to convince an employment tribunal that defence supplier, Leonardo, allowing transgender individuals access to toilets based on their reassigned gender was harassment or was discriminatory towards women.