An employer and an employee commit themselves to a contract of 
employment in which the terms and conditions of said employment are negotiated.
An agreement must be reached before the employee’s requests for contractual changes are agreed. If they wish to alter the agreement, they should, if necessary with the help of their union, explain why they have requested the changes and use the negotiations and arbitration to reach a common consensus.
Not working on a Sunday is an issue covered by statutory regulations, and thus the employee does not have to make an overt request for such a change. Anything not covered by those regulations needs to be agreed to by the employer after they have had the reasons for a request of an altered contract. Once any and all changes are agreed, they need to be confirmed in writing.
Two things are required by law once a contractual change has been agreed by the employers and employees: a new written statement of employment and a letter sent within a month new agreement explaining the new contractual obligations of both sides.
If any changes to a contractual situation are not in the written statement such as the right to statutory sick pay, the employer should notify the employee of where information about the change can be found. These may include the company intranet or a handbook or noticeboard.
Any changes to collective agreements agreed with trade unions or other staffing associations like job agencies require the employer to notify the employee of those changes. Terms and conditions agreed outside of the written statement of employment subject to change may include wages and working hours, and must be agreed between both parties regardless of union membership.
A situation becomes problematic if a change of contract occurs without the agreement of one or both parties. If a sacked worker is re-hired on new terms and conditions, a dispute can arise in which a breach of contract occurs arbitration is required.
Arbitration services are available when contract disputes occur: they can be trade union representatives, citizen’s advice bureaus, ACAS (Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service) etc. Friendly mediation between both parties can resolve a conflict whilst reducing any last reputational damage. If an employee feels wrongly serviced by their employer, they can seek this mediation through the above options.
If both of the following apply, then an employee is subject to the terms of a fixed-term contract: they are hired for a specific purpose e.g. construction, or they are hired for a specified time period and a specific end date.
A non fixed-term employee is an individual who works for a jobs agency rather than the company which has given the contract to that agency for staffing and recruitment: also, those on work experience schemes or members of the armed forces are examples of non fixed-term contracts.
If an individual is employed as a seasonal or casual worker: i.e. staff hired to cover a busy Christmas period or specialist for a particular task in employment, or if they are covering for maternity or illness, they are frequently classed as fixed-term employees.
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