A new job offer should be positive news to you. However, the excitement that comes with it can cloud your judgement, just like many others and get you to use your own hands to get yourself into trouble. Hiring an attorney to review your contract can help alleviate some of those troubles.
Generally, contracts can be very complex to understand for some people, but employee contracts are even more complex. Employers are increasingly using obscure clauses to bait unsuspecting employees into signing off on contracts that have detrimental effects to their employment position.
Excited about your new job offer, these are 5 key reasons why hiring an attorney to review your employee contract is a smart idea;
Attention to the details
Employee contracts are quite complex because they try to cover every aspect of your employment ranging from job description, to remuneration and termination among others. Plus, they are mostly written using complex and confusing legal wordings. As a result of these complexities, employee contracts come with a lot of tricky details.
An attorney being an experienced professional in drafting and interpreting complex legal paper works will easily help you unravels the complexities of the contract. No matter how complex the legal jargon of the contract might be, an attorney can help you understand this and translate it to you for easy understanding.
This will help you decide whether to sign, renegotiate or reject such contract, and removes you from the circle of vulnerability.
Knowledge of the law
Due to the fact that employment is majorly regulated by state laws, employee contracts have a lot of differences from state to state. For example, while some states allow non-compete clauses, some states do not and some states like Florida only allow if there is a legitimate business interest to support it.
Having an experienced employment attorney to review your employee contract will help ensure you are not binding yourself with an agreement in clear violation of existing state laws.
Cost effectiveness
This might sound like the direct opposite of what you’ve always thought about hiring an attorney to do anything. However, when you hire an attorney to review your employee contract, you are putting stop gaps in place against future suits you might be slapped with.
Job Security
A major component of all employee contracts is the termination clause. The lack of understanding of this has led a lot of employees to signing off on onerous terms like the ‘automatic termination clause,’ which empowers your employer to fire you without any notice or opportunity to make corrections.
Without an attorney reviewing your contract, your excitement of a job offer is not worth it. You might just be thrown out the next day since the contract you have signed allows it.
Stay Ahead of Others
With a proper understanding of your employee contract, you are starting off your job in a better position. You have the benefit of proper information which can prime you ahead of your peers in your workplace. Either as an entry level or an experienced employee, a review of your employee by an attorney puts you just ahead of others.
Please visit our Non-Compete page to learn about our extensive non-compete knowledge. We will be able to help you with any of your non-compete or employee contract needs.