Quality v. Quantity: What Should Be Included in an Employment Contract?
“Is it usual for my contract to be this short?” “Are employment agreements normally this long?” I receive these types of questions often from employees and business owners who are either presented with or preparing an employment agreement. My answer, “It is the quality, not the quantity, of the information in the agreement that matters.” Sometimes a short and sweet agreement is all that is needed. Generally, a short agreement reflects an at-will employment situation, where the employer or the employee can terminate the agreement at any time, for any reason. The agreement may go on to set out expected compensation (with a caveat that it is subject to discretionary change on the part of the employer), and set forth notice requirements that an employee must satisfy in order to be paid accrued (but unused) vacation time when the employment relationship ends. In other words, shorter agreements tend to resemble […]
Continue Reading