Employment Agreement : junior employee

What this contract covers.

This employment contract includes all the key legal terms required under the Employment Rights Act 1996 and other relevant legislation. It also includes sensible commercial protections for your business.
It’s designed for use with junior employees in permanent roles, including administrative assistants, support staff, or early-career professionals who don’t have managerial or strategic responsibilities.

What are the key features?

• • Job title and description
    Clearly outlines the employee’s role and reporting line.
  • Start date and continuous employment
    Sets out the employment start date and confirms whether any previous employment counts towards continuity.
  • Hours and place of work
    Includes standard working hours, any flexibility arrangements, and primary workplace location (e.g. office, hybrid, or remote).
  • Salary and payment details
    Confirms gross salary, payment frequency, and how salary reviews (if any) are handled.
  • Holiday entitlement
    Provides for statutory annual leave, with options to increase entitlement or adjust for part-time workers.
  • Sick pay and other time off
    Covers statutory sick pay and explains how other types of leave (e.g. maternity, paternity, or dependants’ leave) are handled.
  • Notice periods
    States how much notice either side must give to end the contract.
  • Confidentiality
    Protects your company’s sensitive information during and after employment.
  • Disciplinary and grievance procedures
    Refers to your internal procedures, which must meet minimum legal standards.

What use our template?

Hiring even a junior employee without a contract exposes your business to unnecessary risk. Our simple employment contract gives you confidence that:

• You’ve met your legal obligation to provide written terms on or before the first day of work.
• You’ve put clear expectations in place, which helps avoid misunderstandings and disputes.
• Your business is protected, especially when it comes to confidentiality.
• You’re saving time and money by using a high-quality solicitor-drafted contract without paying law firm rates.

Practicle guidance included.

Every PaperRock template comes with easy-to-follow guidance notes, written in plain English. These explain the purpose of each clause and guide you through the key decisions, so you can tailor the contract to your business with confidence.

No legal background is required. You’ll be able to complete the contract quickly and understand what you’re agreeing to.

When to use this document.

This template is suitable for most junior hires, including:

• Office administrators
• Sales or marketing assistants
• Junior operations staff
• Customer support representatives
• Graduate trainees (in non-managerial roles)

If your employee will have managerial duties, access to highly sensitive data, or be in a senior client-facing role, one of our more detailed contracts may be more appropriate.

Template details.

• Jurisdiction: England and Wales
• Format: Microsoft Word (.docx)
• Length: Approx. 5–7 pages
• Includes: Guidance notes and editing tips
• Last updated: Fully up-to-date with current employment law

Trusted by UK businesses

This contract has been drafted by leading employment lawyers with years of experience advising UK employers. It reflects best practice and is designed to be legally robust while remaining accessible and practical.

At PaperRock, we understand that growing a team is exciting – but it can also be daunting. We’re here to make the legal side simple, so you can focus on what matters most: building your business.