Am I obliged to sign contract?

[Ruple]

I've been working for a company for 9 years, I've never had a contract. My terms were explained in my offer letter before I joined but in no great detail- holiday allowance, hours and duties etc.

The management have now decided to issue staff with contracts after all this time and one of the clauses of this contract is that they reserve the right to make reasonable changes to any of our terms of employment. This makes me nervous as if they were to try to change my hours (I'm part time) I'd have to leave as can't manage childcare otherwise.

Can anyone advise if I HAVE to sign this contract and what will happen if I do not? Can they dismiss me for not signing it? Surely a contract should protect both parties, it seems this contract only protects the firm!

Firstly, you do have an employment contract. You have had a contract since the day the position was offered and you accepted. The contract was formed verbally, if you had a piece of paper it would be evidence of the contract but that you don’t doesn’t mean the contract does not exist.

To your current situation, no I wouldn’t sign that, although it is so vague it could be rendered meaningless but I still wouldn’t sign it. I would stick with the contract you already have and don’t let anyone tell you that you don’t have a contract. What can they do? I guess they could try and pressure you into signing it or if they are an unpleasant employer otherwise try to manage you out. If you decide to stick to your guns, start to keep a diary of any changes in behaviour towards you, just in case.

No, as Aprilx has said, you don't have to sign it...

But if you don't, you may well be considered to have accepted it by continuing working anyway, so it might not have the effect that you'd want it to have. You may have to broach the change in terms with them, rather than not sign to not accept them.

I think it's very amiss and unprofessional of a company to not have a written contract in place. I get why they are introducing one now. Have you seen the actual wording yet? Have you verbalised your concerns to management?
If I were you, id seek advice from Acas first as probably a good idea to let a third party look things over.

Surely that would be an unfair clause anyway?

I think that is actually a fairly standard employment contract clause so it's not necessarily anything sinister.

Normally if you refused to sign a change of contract then the employer can dismiss you (providing they follow correct process and notice periods) and rehire you on the new terms and conditions. BUT this may be dependent on having that clause already in your employment contract, stating that they can change your terms and conditions, so in your case I'm not sure whether this applies or not.

Do you have a union or employee forum you can speak to? If not, I would simply ask either your line manager or HR what happens if you don't sign it. It's a reasonable question. In my experience most employers would see the 'dismiss and rehire' option as the last resort.

It’s a very standard clause but also pretty toothless. It doesn’t give them the right to change stuff willy-nilly, the changes would still need to be reasonable (as it says) and necessary.

Are you comfortable with everything else in the contract?

I'd email them back, say you aren't happy with that clause and want it removed before you agree to the new contract.

That’s a very general clause that doesn’t mean much. Forcing people to WFH following covid directives is an example of a reasonable change.
I wouldn’t worry too much if I were you but you can contact ACAS or your union for advice