Receiving a new employment contract can be overwhelming for any employee. Employment contracts are often lengthy and use complicated language that makes it difficult to fully comprehend. This can be especially true the higher up you get within a company, as your contract is likely to be more complex. However, it’s essential that you understand what you’re signing. This is a legally binding contract, so you need to ensure that you understand what your employer expects from you and what you can expect from them.
Various clauses can be included in your contract that you need to review carefully, and possibly negotiate for terms and conditions that are more beneficial for you. Here are a few common employment contract clauses that you may find in yours.
Termination Clauses
Every employee should understand when and how they can be terminated. For many employees in New York City, employment is at-will, and their employers can fire them at any time and don’t need a reason to do so. However, some employers may have termination clauses that state employees can only be terminated under certain circumstances. Additionally, some employees are only employed for a certain length of time, which needs to be stated in the contract.
Non-Compete Agreements
Non-compete agreements restrict employees from taking employment opportunities with the employer’s competitors for a certain period of time after they leave the company. A non-compete agreement can also prevent an employee from starting their own competing business. While non-compete agreements can be enforceable, they aren’t always. As a non-compete agreement can limit your opportunities for new employment in the future, you must understand what restrictions this agreement has and if it’s actually enforceable.
Non-Disclosure Agreements
During your time with an employer, you’re likely to learn sensitive information about the company, such as trade secrets. When an employer has a legitimate reason to protect their private business information, they may require employees and anyone else working with the company to sign non-disclosure agreements. This prevents employees from sharing certain information and defines what type of information is included in the NDA.
Non-Solicitation Agreements
Employees meet many other valuable professionals and clients through their current employer. When these employees move on to other companies or start their own, they may want to use the network they’ve gained with a previous employer to benefit them in their new role. When an employee signs a non-solicitation agreement, they agree not to pursue the employer’s employees and clients for their new position.
Arbitration Agreements
Naturally, employers want to do all they can to prevent costly and time-consuming litigation. Because of this, many employment contracts contain arbitration agreements. With an arbitration agreement, employees agree to settle legal disputes with their employers out of court. While there can be benefits to arbitration, if you do encounter legal issues with your employer, you may not get the same results as you would have by filing a lawsuit.
Review Your Employment Contract with Bantle & Levy
Before you sign your employment contract, know what you’re getting yourself into by being aware of the most common employment contract clauses. If you aren’t careful, you can overlook important details that can significantly affect you in the future. At Bantle & Levy, we understand the importance of employment contracts and want you to thoroughly understand yours. If it seems like your contract will hurt you more than help you, we can help you negotiate a contract that is more beneficial and protects your rights.
Contact us for assistance when you have a new employment contract to sign.
