Thackray Williams

During periods of high unemployment  employees are less willing to move jobs, preferring their current job security to career development elsewhere.  Whilst an employment contract is usually written in express terms and consequently legally binding the ‘psychological contract’ is the unwritten/implied understanding between an employee and employer about their obligations to each other.  Although there is no basis for this ‘psychological contract’ in law, if an employee resigns they may claim constructive dismissal asserting that the relationship of mutual “trust and confidence,” (which is an implied term) has been breached and/or broken down.

The balance of employee/employer relationships will inevitably shift during challenging economic conditions , for example many firms have frozen pay increases this year  and met with universal acceptance from staff. 
The lists below shows the kind of commitments that employers and employees might make to each other (source the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development ) www.cipd.co.uk 

Employees promise to: 

• Work hard 
• Uphold company reputation 
• Maintain high levels of attendance and punctuality 
• Show loyalty to the organisation 

Employers promise to:

• Pay commensurate with performance
• Opportunities for training and development
• Opportunities for promotion
• Recognition for innovation or new idea

Existing clients of Thackray Williams are offered a complimentary review of their contracts of employment.  For more information contact david.hacker@thackraywilliams.com