Employment Contract Template

Your employment contract is your company's most important document. It serves as a blueprint for how your employees should work, behave, handle workplace conflicts, etc. Download this legally compliant employment contract template that is easy to customize for your company.

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Employment Contract Template

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An employment contract template is used to draft your own contract of employment with the employer or the employee. Below you are going to find everything needed to know about employment contract and have a clearer idea about when you are going to need an employment contract for your business and how to create a proper one.

Also, you will find an expert-drafted employment contract template available for free download!

Part 1: What is an Employment Contract?

Also known as Employment Agreement, Employee Contract, Job Contract, or Contract of Employment, an Employment Contract is a legally enforceable document formed between an employer and an individual employee, which defines all terms and conditions of the employment relationship.

It is signed when a new employee comes on board in the job position provided by the employer. Unlike normal employee forms, an employment contract shall detail the obligations, duties as well as responsibilities of the employee towards the employing party, and vice versa. Meanwhile it may serve as legal protections for the benefits and rights of both parties.

Once signed by both parties, the employment contract shall remain active throughout the tenure of the signing employee, unless otherwise agreed.

The employed party is suggested to give the employment contract a careful read before signing it.

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With this professional employment contract template, you'll have the resources you need to form an ironclad agreement with your employees. Start preparing for the best working year ever by downloading this employment contract template today!

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Part 2: Who needs an Employment Contract?

Every employer needs an employment contract regardless of the sector and size of his or her company.

An employment contract may prove legally useful to the employer in scenarios that include but are not limited to:

When it’s difficult for the employer to find replacements for the employed professional with unique skills and talents.
When the employed party has or will have knowledge of or access to confidential business information of the company.
When there is concern regarding business competition if the employed party ever quits.

Its legal necessity is also built on the fact that by laying out working standards, expectations, as well as employment payments, such an employment contract may help set the employment relationship well on track, leaving no room for uncertainty, unclarity and misunderstanding.

Part 3: Types of Employment Contracts

There are mainly 5 types of employment contracts depending on the employer, the job role, and the work demand.

Full-time Employment Contracts:

Full-time employment contracts are the most frequently used ones by employers. Such documents detail the working hours of the employees and how they will be paid (salary or hourly). Furthermore, other important aspects are also included, such as the position of the employee within the company and his or her holiday entitlement.

The complexity of a full-time employment contract is often related to the seniority of the employed party. Some companies may add non-compete clauses and confidentiality clauses in their employment contracts for senior employees to protect the interests of the company.

Part-time Employment Contract:

Similar to a full-time employment contract in many aspects, a part-time employment contract usually requires fewer contracted working hours, though a part-time employee may still retain the option to work overtime when desired.

Holiday entitlement and other perks are often overlooked under a part-time employment contract. However, it is necessary to state these conditions clearly in the part-time employment contract and meet the statutory requirements

Zero Hours Contract:

A zero hours contract is a contract where the employer does not have to provide regular work for the employee, but the employee has to be on call in case he or she is needed to work.

It modifies the conventional employment contracts by nullifying the obligation of the employer of the provision of work.

To create and execute a zero hours contract requires great care. There should be prior arrangements made with the employee so that the employee fully understands what they are getting into.

Casual Worker Contract:

Under a casual worker contract, the Employer is not obliged to provide work to an individual employee, while the employee is also not required to accept the work when offered.

A casual worker is not firmly committed to all the work assigned by the employer. He or she may enjoy a higher pay rate and end employment without notice unless required, yet with fewer benefits to gain from the employer, compared to full-time employees.

Generally speaking, a casual worker contract is created for workers seeking temporary employment rather than a permanent one.

Annualised Hours Contract:

Under an annualised hours contract, an employee's working time is expressed as a total number of hours to be worked during the course of the year. With an annualised hours contract, employers may assign work based on demands, in which cases they don’t have to pay overtime, or recruit temporary staff.

This type of employment contract benefits employees by offering certain flexibility with periods of non-working for them, making it possible for them to pursue personal interests and hobbies.

All the benefits of the full-time employees are applicable to employees working under annualised hours contract as well.

Part 4: What does an Employment Contract cover?

An employment contract describes the obligations of the employer as well as the employee. In general, it contains the following components:

Employee Salary:

The employment contract shall state the salary, wage, or commission of the employee, which is generally agreed upon between the employee and the employer beforehand.

Schedule:

The employment contract shall include the days and hours the employee is expected to work.

Employment Duration:

The employment contract shall stipulate the length of the time the employee is expected to work for the company, as agreed by both parties beforehand.

Generally, the contract is on an ongoing basis so there is no specific term stated. However, for fixed term contracts, the employment duration should be added within.

Employee Responsibilities:

The employment contract shall detail the responsibilities expected of an employee during the employment tenure at the company.

Benefits:

All promised benefits to the signing employee by the employing party shall be specified in the employment agreement, such as insurance and vacation. Furthermore, it shall be guaranteed that benefits mentioned in the agreement comply with the minimum requirements set by laws and regulations of the region where the company operates.

Ownership of Work:

The employment contract may add that the work produced by the employee within the duration of the employment contract for the company shall be owned by the company. This proves essential for businesses operating in content creation, arts, etc.

There can be many more added clauses in the contract agreement, based on the type of employment and the requirements of the employer.

Part 5: Why An Employment Contract Is Necessary?

A proper employment contract is necessary in the way it provides legal proof in protecting the rights and interests of both parties.

By laying out the responsibilities, expectations and promised benefits of both parties in written form, an employment contract ensures job securities for the employee, as well as confidential info security on the employer’s side.

An employment contract also works in favor of the employee by providing necessary information pertaining to job description, duties, salary and benefits.

Meanwhile such contract prove beneficial to the employer as well if the employee fails to comply with his or her responsibilities, under which circumstances, the employer is allowed to dismiss the employee.

An employment agreement also makes sure that the competitors of a business cannot exploit the vulnerabilities of a company by hiring their employees. This is achieved through non-compete and confidentiality clauses.

Any party may use the employment agreement as legal proof in case there is any violation or breach of the agreement from the other party.

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Endnotes

To form a legally binding employment contract, any clause included within should be properly written.

Can’t wait to draft your own employment contract? Download a >free attorney-drafted template at CocoSign! CocoSign has all types of contract templates in store for you to discover.

DOCUMENT PREVIEW

EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT

______________________

BE IT KNOWN, that this AGREEMENT is entered into on ________________________ between ________________________, (hereafter referred to as the "Employer"), located at ________________________, ________________________, ________________________ ________________________ and ________________________ (hereafter referred to as the "Employee") residing at ________________________, ________________________, ________________________ ________________________.

IN WITNESS THEREOF, the above parties wish to enter into this Agreement and express the need to define and set forth within this instrument the terms and conditions of employment of the above named employee by ________________________.

THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and agreed upon stipulations set forth below, it is hereby solemnly agreed upon and thus legally binding by the Employer and the Employee as follows:

EMPLOYMENT

________________________, a ________________________ company, operating at ________________________, ________________________, ________________________ ________________________, does hereby employ ________________________ in the position of ________________________, and the Employee does hereby agree to serve in such capacity, beginning ________________________ and ending at such date and time the Employee's employment may be terminated in accordance with below listed Termination of Agreement clause.

PERFORMANCE OF DUTIES

________________________, the Employee, hereby agrees that throughout his/her period of employment s/he shall devote his/her full attention and time, during working hours, to the performance of his/her duties and business affairs of the Employer, in addition to performing said duties faithfully and efficiently as directed by the CEO or Supervisor of the Employer. It is not the intention of the Employer to assign duties and responsibilities which are not typically within the scope and characteristics associated with this position, or of which may not be required of other employees of similar rank and position. However, the Employer reserves the right to increase and/or revise the Employee's role and responsibilities, whether through reorganization of his/her position or promotion. Any change in the Employee's pay scale, due to the change of responsibilities and/or promotion, will be at the sole discretion of the Employer.

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

In accordance with the following terms and conditions of this Agreement, and throughout the Employee's period of employment, compensation for his/her services will be as follows: Employee will receive ________________________ salary of $________________________ with

________________________ evaluations and/or rate increases as deemed appropriate and said amount to be determined by the Supervisor of the Employee.

Paychecks will be issued as follows:

Employee will be entitled to other similar benefits of employees of similar rank and position.

CONFIDENTIALITY - UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE

Within or after the Employment Period, the Employee shall at no time divulge, release, or remove for his/her use or that of any other individual or company any documentation, information, or knowledge pertaining to the operation or business of the Employer or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates, obtained or made available to him/her during the course of his/her employment with the Employer, subsidiaries or affiliates. Furthermore, the Employer and Employee agree as follows:

- Confidential information excludes that which is public knowledge.

- Employee shall not copy or modify any Confidential Information without prior written consent of the Employer.

- Employee shall, upon termination of employment (whether voluntary or involuntarily), immediately return to the Employer any and all written documents and/or materials of a confidential nature.

Unauthorized Disclosure

Should the Employee, during or after termination of employment, disclose or threaten to disclose any information of a confidential nature, the Employee shall be deemed in violation of this Agreement, and the Employer at that time shall be entitled to obtain an injunction to restrain the Employee from disclosing or further disclosing, in whole or in part, Confidential Information. The Employer shall also be entitled to pursue other legal remedies, as may be deemed appropriate, for any loss and/or damages incurred as a result of any unauthorized disclosure made by the Employee during or after termination of employment.

REMEDIES

Should the Employee, at any time, violate any of the covenants or agreements set forth in "CONFIDENTIALITY - UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE," the Employer reserves the right to immediately terminate employment of Employee, and terminate all its obligations to make any further payments under this Agreement. The Employee acknowledges that the Employer could incur permanent and irreversible damage and injury though a violation of the provisions within "CONFIDENTIALITY - UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE," and as such agrees that the Employer shall be entitled to any legal remedy or injunction, as may be deemed appropriate by Employer or Court of Law, from any actual or threatened breach of this Agreement.

AMENDMENT OF AGREEMENT

Any Amendment of this Agreement must be mutually agreed upon in writing by both parties (the Employer and Employee). Furthermore, any amendment must also contain a start date for the amendment to the original Employment Contract.

TERMINATION OF AGREEMENT

The Employment Period shall be terminated at the time when any of the following may occur:

- Date of "at-will" termination by either Employee or Employer;

- Upon the Employee's death;

- Cause shall include, but is not limited to Employee's gross misconduct, material damage to the Employer, Employee's willful breach of this Agreement, or the Employee's death occurs; .

NOTICES

Any notice required or allowable, made in accordance with this Agreement, must be made in writing and sent by registered mail to the Employee at his/her home address or to the Employer at its principal headquarters, whichever the case may be.

NON-ASSIGNMENT

Any interests pertaining to the Employee under the Agreement are not subject to any claims of his/her creditors and may not be voluntarily or involuntarily assigned, alienated or encumbered.

OWNERSHIP OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Throughout the Employee's term of employment with the Employer, whether during the fulfillment of his/her normal duties and responsibilities or others which may be specifically assigned to the Employee, either on his/her own or in connection with another individual, the Employee develops or creates any such intellectual property, including but not limited to any work where a copyright exists or may exist, the Employee shall immediately notify the Employer. In addition, the Employee acknowledges and agrees that any and all such intellectual property, copyright and other intellectual property rights shall be deemed the ownership of the Employer.

The Employee hereby waives unconditionally and irrevocably any and all moral or any such rights of a similar nature with respect to any work where a copyright exists, may exist or later exists, in which the copyright is created by the Employee during employment in each jurisdiction worldwide, and that such rights may be waived for each respective jurisdiction. The waiver hereby extends to any and all respective acts of the Employer, its successors, assigns, licensees and any acts of third party individuals with the authority of the Employer, its successors and/or assigns.

SUCCESSORS

The contents of this Agreement shall be legally binding upon the Employer, and its successors or assigns by any individual or company acquiring, whether by sale or merger or otherwise, all or substantially all of the Employer's assets and business.

ENTIRE AGREEMENT

This Agreement contains the complete and entire agreement of both the Employer and Employee, and there are no other promises or conditions, oral or written, outside of what is contained herein this Agreement. This Agreement supersedes any prior written or oral agreements between both parties.

SEVERABILITY

Should any provision contained within this Agreement be deemed invalid or unenforceable, in part or in whole, such invalidity or unenforceability will attach only to that particular provision or part of this Agreement while the remaining aspects of said provision and all other provisions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.

APPLICABLE LAW

The provisions of the Agreement shall be interpreted in accordance with the current laws of the state of ________________________.

COPY OF AGREEMENT

The Employee acknowledges receipt of a copy of this Agreement signed by both the Employee and the Employer.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Employee has hereunto set his/her hand, and the Employer has caused this instrument to be executed in its name and on its behalf, as of ________________________.

(Employee Signature)

________________________

(Employee Name)

(Employer/Duly Authorized Representative Signature)

________________________

(Employer/Duly Authorized Representative Name)

________________________

(Employer/Duly Authorized Representative Title)

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