What Should My Employment Contract Contain?

When you are anticipating that an employer will soon offer you a new position in South Florida, or if you are planning to be negotiating the terms of an employment contract soon, it is essential to understand what an employment contract in Florida should always contain as well as what types of terms or clauses might not be as important.

In Florida, a majority of workers are at-will employees, which means that they do not have an employment contract. Rather, the employer can terminate the employee for any reason (other than an unlawful one) at any time, and likewise, the employee can resign from their job and end the employment relationship with the employer at any time and for any reason. However, just because Florida is an at-will state does not mean that a range of employment relationships are governed by contracts. What should your employment contract contain? A Palm Beach Gardens employment law attorney can tell you more.

Offer Letters Are Separate from Employment Contracts 

When you are interviewing for a new job and the employer wants to hire you, you may receive an offer letter before you actually receive an employment contract. It is important to understand that offer letters are not employment contracts. While in some cases they can create a certain type of contractual relationship if you accept the offer, there is often still an opportunity to negotiate the specific terms of the contract.

Essential Elements of an Employment Contract in South Florida 

When you are negotiating an employment contract, what should you always want to have included? Certain terms that often appear in employment contracts may be defined in the Florida Statutes, while others are defined elsewhere or in the contract itself. When you are negotiating an employment contract, you should expect the following elements to be contained in it:

• Specific information about your job duties and the job title;
• Information about who owns any work product;
• Terms of your employment period, including when employment begins and when the contract period ends, and terms for how your contract may be renewed (if applicable);
• Details about your compensation and benefits, including how frequently and how much you will be paid;
• Information about your eligibility for paid time off, including vacation days, personal days, and sick time;
• How you are able to use company property, any any restrictions on the use of company property; and
• Terms for employment termination, including what constitutes cause, and details about severance packages in the event of certain circumstances for termination.

An employer may want to include other terms in an employment contract, as well, but these may be terms that are not necessarily beneficial to you. For example, an employer might want to include a provision that prohibits you from doing any concurrent gig work during your period of employment, or may want you to agree that all employment disputes be settled through arbitration. Clauses or agreements concerning any restrictive covenants (including, for example, confidentiality agreements or trade secret protection agreements), and your responsibilities and benefits for compliance, may also be addressed.

In addition to issues like salary, benefits, and other contract details that will often be important for you to negotiate, less favorable terms or elements of an employment contract may also be negotiable.

Contact a Palm Beach Gardens Employment Law Attorneys 

If you need assistance reviewing or negotiating an employment contract, you should get in touch with one of the experienced Palm Beach Gardens contracts and employment lawyers at Sconzo Law Office. Contact us today for assistance.

Sources:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0400-0499/0448/0448ContentsIndex.html

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0400-0499/0448/Sections/0448.095.html