According to the September 17-September 23, 1995 issue of National Business and Employment Weekly , before signing a formal Contingency Employment contract for consulting work, it's essential to carefully consider and negotiate the following eight key clauses of the contract to avoid problems are misunderstandings.
· Job description. This section should clearly state your duties and authority. Expectations of performance and how it will be measured also should be addressed here.
· Management rights. While the company will want to retain certain flexibility and rights, you'll want to restrict as much as possible the employer's ability to arbitrarily change your job duties.
· Term of the contract. If you're to be hired for a fixed period of time, this should be documented in the contract. This section should also list any terms for renewal of the contract.
· Compensation. Your base salary should be stated here, as well as whether and how pay raises will be implemented. Benefits, vacation time, expense accounts, car allowances and insurance-coverage terms also should be specified. Don't assume something will be provided if it's not in writing.
· Exclusive service. Unless otherwise indicated, you'll be expected to work a regular work week with regular business hours exclusively for the employer in question. You may wish to negotiate this clause so you can have time to generate other contract work.
· Non-competition/-solicitation clauses. The employer may seek to keep you from working with a rival or starting a competing company. If you must accept such a provision, be sure to set as short a time limit for it as possible. This way, your ability to look for new employment isn't unduly restricted.
· Confidential information. In this section, have the employer be as specific as possible in identifying data and secrets that you can't use or disclose. Again, the terms shouldn't unreasonably limit your search for new work.
· Termination. This component of the contract should clearly outline what will constitute cause for dismissal, as well as how much notice you'd be given. It should also state how much notice you'll give the employer if you choose to quit or resign.
Contingency employment contracts can become very complicated and rules and regulations will differ from state to state. Thus, before you sign, it's wise to seek financial and legal counsel, otherwise, you could sign away your rights.
National Business and Employment Weekly,
Sept.17 - Sept. 23, 1995