An employee contract is a written document you and your employee both sign that defines the terms of your business relationship. There are some situations in which your company will benefit by having signed contracts with your employees.

Advantages of using employment contracts.

1. An employment contract allows you to list details and requirements that are specific to your business.

For example, if you are in a business in which your list of clients is highly sensitive or if you have a trade secret such a special recipe, an employee contract can protect your business interests. A non-compete clause in an employee contract will limit that person’s ability to compete with you within a defined period and/or within a defined geographic area.

2.Both parties will have a written document to refer to in the event of a disagreement or dispute.

Once you have found the right person for the job, you want to keep him or her if you can. Finding and training new staff is time-consuming and expensive. By requiring a signed employment contract that specifies a term of employment, you don’t have to worry that the employee will be with you until something better comes along. You can be assured he or she has a commitment to your company.

3. An employment contract can help you have some control over how your employees work out in the position.

By laying out the employee standards in a contract, you have grounds for disciplinary measures or even dismissal, if necessary.

4. An employment contract promote the professionalism, clarity and sense of organization.

A contract gives your employees a sense of security and even stability. They do not have to worry about what they are getting into with this position. It is all clearly laid out.

Disadvantages of using employment contracts.

1. The main disadvantage of an employment contract is that it is a contract.

By its very nature, a contract connotes lack of flexibility and therefore limits the amount of negotiation either party can do.

To set a salary in writing or a proposed schedule for salary review can be problematic for employers. A previously written time-frame does not allow for economic downturns, for instance.

2. Employment contracts is that most of them use the legal terminology requiring you to act according to the “covenant of good faith and fair dealing.”
3. Major change in company’s needs.

What if your company seems to be going in a different direction than you planned and you discover that you have no need of the project for which you hired someone? According to the contract, you cannot fire that employee. Instead you will need to renegotiate the contract or come to a settlement with the employee.

Employment contracts have both benefits and limitations. Think carefully about the specific needs of your company and weigh the advantages with the disadvantages. If your business has some special or unique circumstances, it is a good idea to talk with an attorney before drafting an employee contract.

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What is an Employment Contract?

An employment contract can be defined as a document that dictates the professional relationship of an employer and employee which both an employer and employee sign. Basically, this kind of contract carries both merits and demerits. Therefore, if you are an employer, it is ideal that you’ re aware of the various factors to put into consideration when thinking about an employee contract.

What is included in Employment Contracts?

First and foremost, for an employment contract to be considered good, it must clearly spell out how the employer expects the employee to carry out his/ her tasks. The contract should also spell what the employee to expect from the employer. The following are some of the other terms that an employer can include in an employment contract;

*Terms relating to various responsibilities of a worker

*Sick day and vacation policies

*Benefits like disability, life or health insurance

*Assignment clauses which state any patent procured by employee

*Non- disclosure agreements that relate to the employer’s trade secrets

Pros of Making Use of Employee Contracts

#1: Provide an Employer the Ability of Hanging onto His/ Her Best Employees:-

This is often possible when an employer decides to add terms and conditions into the employment contract which limit the reasons that employees can use to leave his or her firm. For instance, if an employer has spent a considerable cash amount training an employee, he or she can lock the employee into a length of employment under the employee contract.

#2: Putting Confidentiality Clauses: –

When employees are learning, or working with the employer’s trade secrets, an employer is allowed to put confidentiality clauses into his or her employment contract. This can prevent employees from trying to disclose the employer’s trade secrets in the future.

#3: An Employer can Use the Contract to Hire the Best Employees: –

It is so obvious that an employer will most probably offer the best workers many different employment contracts. If this is the case, the employer can end up offering the workers the best deal thus making them end up cooperating with him or her.

Cons of Employers Using Employment Contracts

#1: The Contract Limits Employee’s Flexibility: –

Employment agreements limits employee’s agreement since the employees are normally made to adhere to the different terms and conditions imposed by the employer.

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An employment contract is an oral or written, express or implied relationship that is created between the employer and the employee. Generally, a contract is an enforceable agreement between two parties. However, employment contract is a contract that has employment terms and conditions agreed upon and accepted by the parties. This law governing employment contracts are from many sources like wages and hours laws, contract law, tort law, health and safety laws and the like. Sometimes there may be an overlap between any laws.

Breach of Employment Contracts

To most of California employees, the issues of the breach of employment contracts do not apply because they are referred to as ‘at will.’ This implies that the employees have no employment contracts. An employee is able to terminate his or her employment at will with or without any reason. Also, an employer can stop an employee at will with or without any reason as long as the reason is not an illegal action. However, an employer cannot terminate an employee because of race or age discrimination. The ‘at will’ employment in California also allows the employee and the employer to terminate the employment without any notice.

Despite the ‘at will’ employment in California, the employees and the employers have a contract for a specified period. For this reason, to avoid employment contract breach, the terminations of the employment should follow the guidelines in that particular employment contract.

How to Know Whether an Employer Has Committed a Contract Violation Breach

In most of the cases, an employment will always give specific reasons that determines the termination of an employee. If at all an employee has no specified contract, a related employment contract to the way in which an employee may be terminated. If this is the case, it is outlined in the handbook or policy manual that has been set by the employer. Once the employment contract has been entered in the parties, the employer must always honor the terms that are set in the terms of the contract. If an employee wishes to terminate the employment, he/she cannot be forced to continue working for an employer. If an employee is forced to continue in the employment relationship, it is considered as violation of both the U.S and California constitutions.

If anyone is contemplating to accept any new employment, it is recommended that he/she consult an attorney during negotiations before the contract. You therefore need to get an experienced attorney from United Employee Law Group. They will be able to review the contact that is proposed and give a piece of advice on the consequences of the terms and conditions there in the contract. They will also suggest additional and revision of terms that are more favorable to you. If you feel that your employer has violated the breach of employment contract, just feel free and contact United Employee Law Group and get assisted. It is advisable that you contact United Employee Law Group for employment contracts attorney because they will simplify the process and also call you back among many other benefits.

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Currently, almost everyone is using at least one of the different social media platforms available. This has made people use social media as a way to notify other people what is happening around them in real time. Although this may be great in some ways, it can lead to unwanted attention or publicity for a business if employees post business practices related information.

Occupation Policies
Some businesses implement rules regulating the use of social media for its employees because they acknowledge the possible harmful effects it can have on their businesses. The regulations may involve limiting what employee post, prohibiting its use while working as well as not associating oneself with certain, actions, causes and political stance. However, businesses should consider legal implications before proceeding with these things.

At-Will Hire
At-Will Hire means that either the employer or the employee can terminate the job contract at will and many states support that. If an employer doesn’t fire someone illegally, then he or she is allowed to do that legally without offering an explanation. Some illegal things may include discrimination or prohibition of any kind.

Employment Contracts
There are employees sign contracts before they begin working. On the contract, you can find almost everything about the job including grounds for termination, employment relationship among other things. The employee can sue the employer in case there was a breach of contract during the termination of the contract.

Labor Guidelines
In some cases, the NLRB (National Labor Relations Board) may go a step further and clarify when an employer cannot legally fire an employee because of social media posts. NLRB receives thousands of employee complaints, who have been fired because of what they post on their social media accounts, every year.

In order to educate people about forbidden employment practices, NLRB gave a report regarding the matter. According to the report, all employees have a right to engage one another to some extent – protected concerted activity. Employees can discuss work-related issues on social media such as working conditions but labor laws may not cover an individual employee complaining about the job.

First Amendment Rights
Workers can argue that their right to speech is being violated when an employer fire them due to their social media contents. However, the right only caters those interacting with the government. Government employees can enjoy this right and sue anyone violating their right but it does not cover private employees.

Legal Help
Lastly, there is need to consider a number of crucial factors when justifying whether an employee termination, due to their social media activity, is legal. Some factors may include protections available, state laws and protected concerted activity’. A lawyer can guide the employee or employee about legal implications of using social media in a particular state.

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