Employment Contract

An employement contract (employment contract) is an agreement that governs the relationship between an employer, such as a consulting firm, and an employee-particularly for use when hiring a new "W2" employee. An employment contract typically incorporates such matters as terms of compensation, employee benefits, expense management, conditions of termination, and force majeure-a clause that eliminates liability for unfulfilled contractual obligations in the event of unavoidable catastrophes or natural disaster that cannot be evaded through due care and that are not within the realm of control by any parties.

An employment contract is of especial necessity when dealing with confidentiality and nondisclosure issues in order to explicitly define and declare what materials are to be restricted from generalized dissemination in order to protect non-public business information and trade secrets.

Additionally, an employment contract can be used to establish a business relationship as an "employment at will." This stipulates that an employement contract (employment contract) may be terminated by either employer or employee at any time, under any circumstance, and for any reason. This protects a business by decreasing the chances of a successful unfair termination claim. While initially a common-law rule, an express "employment of will" clause has become a necessary addition in employment contracts due to the rise in increasingly successful wrongful termination suits in the '80s brought about by discharged workers. Many companies without them were faced with high legal fees, court costs, and significant monetary damage awards.

An employement contract (employment contract) may also impose non-compete and non-hire provisions. A non-compete agreement prohibits an employee from engaging in any practice that would directly compete with their employer for the duration of their employment as well as for a specified time afterward. It prevents an employee from using their employer's information, data, and industry practices to benefit a competitor or launch their own business. A non-hire agreement prohibits an exiting employee from poaching a business's clients or other employees.

The ContractEdge employment contract - available in the Web Development and Hosting Suite, the Software Development Suite, the Technical Services Consulting Suite, and the Web Development and Hosting Suite - addresses these agreement provisions as well as those of Non-Solicitation, Remedies, Non-assignment by Employee, Arbitration, Attorney's Fees, Severability, and No Waiver.

Additional Topics
Legal Contract
Employment Agreement
Software Contract
Web Design Contracts
Subcontractor Agreement