Thus the employer can define entitlements and obligations which are contractual in documents other than the main Statement.
However, if an original Statement contains, for example, a table setting out certain sickness benefits appropriate to various levels of service and if the employer seeks to revise that, then the employer must ensure that everyone who holds the original document is informed of the change. (See Consultation)

If such descriptions of benefits are contained in, for example, a handbook of national agreements or in internal sources (including intranet), then the main Statement should make specific reference to those and the employer must ensure that every employee is able to access the information.

The same is true of contractual obligations, where it is unusual for all the detail to be set out in the main Statement. An employer should not rely on hard-to-find regulations and should ensure that the attention of every employee is drawn to any change in obligations, such as the protocols to be followed in the event of absence. Subject to the above, failure to conform to properly defined and communicated procedures can be viewed as a possible breach of contract and can be dealt with through disciplinary procedures.

While many contractual policy matters in public services have been defined within national agreements, increasingly there is scope for local developments.