In order to discuss and analyze the above, reference will be made in depth to various documents which may in some circumstances relate to employment contracts and whether those particular documents which are not contractual can be incorporated in a contract, creating legal effectiveness for employers and employees. First of all, it is necessary to establish what exactly an employment contract is. An employment contract is an agreement between employer and employee, which forms the basis of an employment relationship; enforceable by law. Employment contracts can be made orally or in writing: Employment Rights Act 1996 s 230(2) and begin immediately. Actual written contracts require an employee's signature and a company representative's signature. Employment contracts can involve both express and implied terms and can appear in many forms. Explicit conditions, i.e. those agreed upon by both parties, either by signing a contractual document or by acting in a certain way, are rarely found in a single document. The terms are repeatedly found in a variety of documents, whether from the actual formal contract, written statements or an employee handbook. The last two documents are just some examples of prima facia non-contractual documents. In reality, very few employees have a formal written employment contract, but who the act applies to: They must receive a written statement setting out the key details of their employment. within two months of the start of the employment relationship. The written statements are known as Terms and Conditions of Employment: essentially evidence of the contract, which provides clarity to both employee and employer, but does not in itself constitute the actual contract of employment. A written declaration... in the middle of the paper... of an employment contract. This will likely be a trouble spot for some time to come and will likely work on a case by case basis. Works Cited Employment Rights Act 1996 s 230(2)(n1) s 1Ian Smith and Aaron Bake, Smith and Wood's Employment Law (10th edn Oxford University Press, Oxford 2010) 80[1974] ICR 420 CASmith and Baker (n3) 81John Bowers , Bowers on Employment Law (6th edition, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2002) 39[1972] 2 QB 455Smith and Baker (n3) citing Lord Denning MR for (n7)[2006] EWCA Civ 1277, [2006] IRLR 961Slade and 11 KBW, Tolley's Employment Handbook (24th edn, LexisNexis 2010) quoting (n9)(n9)University of London External Program 'Chapter2 The contract of employment' http://www.londoninternational.ac.uk/current_students/programme_resources/laws/subject_guides /labour_law/lablaw_ch2.pdf