Upload a UK employment contract, written statement, offer letter or policy pack and get a plain-English contract analysis of pay, probation, notice, restrictive covenants, zero-hours wording, senior executive terms and contractor versus employee risk.
This is the canonical Vordex page for employment contract review UK, employment contract checker UK and AI employment contract review. It consolidates the clause checklist, restrictive covenant review, probation and notice period review, senior executive review, zero-hours and casual worker review, IR35 status risk and Employment Rights Act employer guide topics into one employment-only page.
Role, pay, hours, probation, notice, benefits and policies.
Non-compete, non-solicitation, non-dealing and garden leave.
Zero-hours, casual, bank worker and contractor status warning signs.
Employment Rights Act 2025 changes and outdated wording.
Canonical scope
A useful employment contract review does not just summarise the document. It identifies which clauses change pay, control, exit, status and future work options, then tells you what to ask before signing.
Salary, bonus, commission, deductions and repayment obligations.
Duties, place of work, hours, rota, mobility and policy changes.
Notice, PILON, garden leave, restrictions, final pay and references.
Policies, bonus rules, share plans, handbooks and side letters.
Clause-level review
The checklist below replaces the old standalone clause pages with one consolidated employment contract clauses checklist UK. Open each area to see what the review is designed to surface.
Checks whether the main job terms are clear enough to rely on, including the difference between the written statement and the wider contract.
Looks beyond base salary to the wording that decides whether variable pay is real, discretionary, delayed, recoverable or easy to vary.
Tests whether the contract creates predictable hours or gives the employer open-ended control over when, where and how much you work.
Checks statutory minimums, contractual enhancements, policy references and areas where an outdated template can misstate rights.
Focuses on whether probation reduces notice, extends automatically, delays benefits or creates unclear performance gates.
Examines the exit clauses that decide whether you can leave cleanly, whether you are paid properly and what restrictions apply while you are leaving.
Reviews post-termination restrictions for practical career impact, including clauses that can block a new role even before a court decides enforceability.
Separates legitimate protection of employer information from overbroad wording that captures general skills, personal projects or activity outside work.
Flags repayment wording that can make resigning expensive, especially where the amount is not reduced over time or applies after employer-led termination.
Finds references to documents that may form part of the contract even if they were not attached to the offer email.
Adds deeper checks for senior hires where the highest-value terms may sit outside salary: incentive plans, exit controls, reputation and governance duties.
Checks whether a casual label matches the practical rights and obligations in the wording, especially holiday, minimum wage, exclusivity and shift control.
For consultancy-style or contractor packs, highlights wording that points toward employment-like control or worker rights even where the label says contractor.
Red flag checklist
A red flag does not always mean the clause is unlawful. It means the clause can change your practical position enough that you should query it, negotiate it or get advice before signing.
UK legal framework
This page uses current official UK guidance as a reference point, but Vordex is not a law firm. Official sources and professional advice should always be checked where the point matters.
| Topic | What to check in the contract | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Written statement and contract terms | Day-one principal statement, wider terms within two months, incorporated policies and verbal or implied terms. | A written statement is not always the whole employment contract. Missing policies can still change the deal. |
| Employee, worker or self-employed status | Control, personal service, mutuality, integration, benefits, substitution and practical working reality. | Employment status affects rights, obligations, payroll treatment and risk allocation. |
| Probation and notice | Notice during probation, statutory minimums, contractual notice, PILON, garden leave and early dismissal process. | Short probation notice can be valid, but the contract should not undercut statutory minimums or hide exit costs. |
| Bonus, commission and deductions | Contractual versus discretionary bonus, commission triggers, final pay, deductions and clawback. | Variable pay often decides the real value of the job offer. |
| Zero-hours and casual work | No guarantee of work, no obligation to accept work, holiday pay, minimum wage, exclusivity and shift cancellation. | Zero-hours does not mean zero rights, and exclusivity clauses can be a major warning sign. |
| IR35 and off-payroll working | Who makes the status determination, CEST inputs, personal service, control, substitution and working practices. | IR35 concerns tax status, but the same facts can also expose employment-status misunderstandings. |
| Employment Rights Act 2025 changes | Template language on sick pay, family leave, whistleblowing, Fair Work Agency enforcement and planned unfair dismissal changes. | Legacy contract templates may be inaccurate or incomplete as 2026 and 2027 changes take effect. |
| Non-compete reform | Whether a non-compete is present, how long it lasts and whether it is actually needed alongside narrower protections. | Government reform work has been active, but the practical review still needs the current wording, facts and timing. |
The page is aligned with current public guidance on written statements, incorporated terms, employment status, IR35, zero-hours work, notice, sick pay, bonus and the Employment Rights Act 2025 implementation timetable.
Employers should use the same checklist to audit templates. A compliant contract pack is not just one signed document: it is the offer letter, written statement, handbook, payroll rules, bonus or commission scheme, sickness wording, family leave wording and manager process that sits behind the contract.
Consolidated subtopic coverage
The following sections replace separate employment subtopic route intents with on-page anchors. This keeps relevance concentrated on the canonical page without sending users to retired employment pages.
Review non-compete, non-solicitation, non-dealing, anti-poaching and team move clauses before you sign or resign. The review checks duration, customer scope, role scope, geography, competitor definitions and whether the same interest could be protected by narrower confidentiality or IP wording.
Check probation length, extension rights, shorter probation notice, when increased notice starts, PILON, garden leave, summary dismissal wording and what happens to bonus, commission or benefits during notice.
For senior hires, review the full executive package: bonus deferral, equity, good leaver and bad leaver rules, severance, board duties, change of control, D&O references, reputation protections, garden leave and restrictive covenants.
Check whether work is genuinely optional, whether refusal affects future shifts, how holiday pay is calculated, whether exclusivity wording appears, how shifts can be cancelled and whether deductions or accommodation terms reduce pay.
For contractor-style documents, Vordex highlights wording linked to control, substitution, personal service, mutuality, equipment, financial risk, integration and employee-style benefits. It is a risk screen, not an HMRC status determination.
Employers can use the same analysis to update contract templates, handbooks, sickness wording, family leave wording, casual worker terms, redundancy processes and manager guidance as Employment Rights Act 2025 changes continue through 2026 and 2027.
Why this page is different
Most search results split the problem into either a law firm landing page, a generic AI contract checker, or a narrow checklist. This canonical page keeps the practical employment contract workflow in one place.
| Page type | Usually useful for | Common gap | How Vordex improves the page |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solicitor landing pages | Legal advice, negotiation, disputes and enforceability judgment. | Often ask the user to book before giving a complete pre-signing clause map. | Gives a full clause-level triage map first, then tells users when solicitor advice is appropriate. |
| Generic AI contract tools | Fast summaries and broad risk flags. | May not focus on UK employment status, written statement rules, zero-hours specifics or the Employment Rights Act timetable. | Keeps the page employment-only and calibrated to UK employment contract risks. |
| Checklist articles | Manual review prompts before signing. | Often stop at the checklist without explaining priority, pricing or what to upload for analysis. | Turns the checklist into action: analyse the document, prioritise red flags and prepare questions. |
| Narrow subtopic pages | A single topic such as non-compete, probation or zero-hours contracts. | They fragment ranking signals and make users stitch the contract risk together themselves. | Consolidates subtopics into on-page anchors under one canonical employment contract review URL. |
Review workflow
The workflow is built for pre-signing decisions. You can use the output to ask HR for missing documents, negotiate wording or brief a solicitor if the issue needs legal advice.
Pricing
The page uses two clear employment contract review options. Detailed Analysis is the primary recommendation where the contract has any serious downside.
Best for senior roles, executive packages, zero-hours packs with status issues, contractor versus employee concerns, bonus or commission schemes, restrictive covenants, PILON, garden leave and multiple incorporated policies.
Best for a standard UK employment contract where you want a fast plain-English check of the main terms before you sign or ask HR for changes.
Choose Detailed Analysis £17.99 first if the contract includes restrictive covenants, senior executive terms, equity, bonus or commission, zero-hours or casual status risk, contractor wording, multiple policies, clawback or anything you would regret signing without a deeper read. Choose Basic Employment Contract Check £7.99 for a straightforward standard employee offer.
FAQs
Straight answers to common questions about employment contract review, employment contract checker output and UK employment contract risk.
Vordex checks the contract clause by clause, including pay, bonus, commission, hours, location, probation, notice, PILON, garden leave, restrictive covenants, confidentiality, IP, deductions, policies, zero-hours wording, senior executive terms and contractor versus employee status risk.
No. Vordex provides contract analysis, risk flags and general information. It does not provide legal advice, does not act as your solicitor and does not decide enforceability. For disputes, negotiation strategy, settlement terms or high-value executive packages, speak to a qualified UK employment solicitor.
Use Basic Employment Contract Check for a standard job offer with salary, hours, probation and notice terms. Use Detailed Analysis for restrictive covenants, senior roles, bonus or commission plans, equity, zero-hours or casual worker packs, IR35-adjacent contractor wording, multiple policies or any clause with serious financial or career downside.
Yes. The Detailed Analysis plan is designed for senior executive review where equity, bonus deferral, good leaver and bad leaver wording, severance, garden leave, restrictive covenants, governance duties and reputation clauses need closer scrutiny.
Yes. Vordex checks status labels, shift obligations, holiday pay, minimum wage risk, deductions, exclusivity wording, notice and rota control. A casual or zero-hours label does not automatically remove employment or worker rights.
Yes. Vordex checks probation length, extension rights, notice during probation, contractual notice after probation, PILON, garden leave, summary dismissal wording and final pay issues.
Yes. Vordex flags non-compete, non-solicitation, non-dealing, anti-poaching and team move wording, including duration, scope, customer definitions, geography and whether the restrictions stack with garden leave.
No. Vordex can identify why a restrictive covenant may be risky, broad or worth querying, but enforceability depends on facts, evidence and legal judgment. Use the report to prepare questions for HR or a solicitor.
Yes, as a risk screen. Vordex can flag clauses linked to control, personal service, substitution, mutuality, equipment, financial risk and employment-like benefits. It is not an HMRC determination and should not replace CEST, specialist tax advice or a formal status determination where required.
Not always. The written statement records key terms, but the legal contract can also include express terms, verbal terms, implied terms and incorporated policies. Vordex therefore asks you to include offer letters, policy references, bonus rules and other documents where possible.
Yes. This canonical page has a legal framework section that highlights 2026 and 2027 implementation issues, including statutory sick pay changes, day-one family leave changes, the Fair Work Agency and planned unfair dismissal changes. Always check official guidance for the latest implementation timetable.
Upload the employment contract, written statement, offer letter, job description, bonus or commission plan, option or equity documents, handbook extracts, policy documents, restrictive covenant schedules and any side letter or variation document relevant to the job offer.
Speak to a solicitor where you need legal advice, someone to negotiate for you, a view on enforceability, a dispute strategy, settlement agreement advice, threatened injunction advice, a cross-border issue, discrimination or whistleblowing advice, or a high-value senior executive package.
Vordex provides employment contract analysis, plain-English explanations and general information. Vordex does not provide legal advice, does not act as your solicitor, does not decide enforceability and does not replace advice from a qualified employment lawyer where advice is required.