Most Common Clauses In An Employment Contract And Agreement

Employment contracts and agreements defines the terms and conditions of the working relationship between an employer and an employee.

The contract shows the duties and responsibilities of the employer to the employee and vice versa.

Although each company has its own template, an employment contract usually contains the following clauses:

Parties Involved

This will specify that the agreement is between the employer and the employee.

Position and Duties

The employment agreement should also specify the title of the position that the employee will be holding, together with the specific duties that the employee will perform as set out by the job description that will be attached to the agreement.

Place of Work

This refers to the location where the employee will be tasked to perform his/her duties.

Working Hours

This refers to the required number of hours the employee must meet.

The employment contract should specify the number of hours the employee must work per week and the number of days in a week.

It should also specify the time that his/her job starts and finishes.

Pay

In this part of the employment contract, the employer can specify the equivalent annual salary that the employee will receive.

The contract should also specify the following:

The period that will be covered for each pay day
The day the payment will be made
The method of which the payment will be given

Public Holidays

This part of the employment agreement specifies that the employee is entitled to be paid for the time worked during a public holiday.

Conflict Resolutions

This part of the employment agreement can specify the process and policies that apply in resolving possible conflicts in the future.

This could include the grievance processes that can be used by the employee to report any practices or policies that they feel are unfair or unjust.

This clause may also include the preferred alternative dispute resolution (ADR) process to resolve employment disputes.

The most common type of ADR process is arbitration because it is much more similar to a court proceeding compared to other ADR forms.

Other Clauses

The employer may also include other clauses that aim to protect the operations and the interests of the company.
Some of them are:

Non-compete clause This prevents an employee from accepting employment from a competitor or start their own venture that will compete with your own company.
Non-solicitation clause This clause prevents your employee from soliciting your clients, customers or suppliers.
Non-disclosure clause This prevents an employee from divulging non-public or proprietary information. The contract should stipulate what defines confidential information.
Anti-raiding clause This prevents former employees from soliciting current employees to leave their employment.
Anti-disparagement clause This prevents employees from making statements that opposes the interest of the company.

Employers are advised to seek help from an expert employment law attorney to make sure that all important areas are covered and that no existing laws are being undermined.

Physician Employment Opportunities For Those Who Don’t Want to Retire

It is said the the retirement times are the golden days in one’s life. But there are many who thinks otherwise. A love for the profession and the zeal to be independent and on their toes often irks people when they count the days of their retirement. Well, this might have been earlier but no longer now. Now there are opportunities to work as locum tenens or take up positions with hospitals and healthcare organizations as per as your preference. Yes, this is possible now. What you just need to do is make up your mind and start applying for physician employment opportunities that comes your way. A good number of companies are helping in this regard by providing a simple job search solution. They have a website where you can register and upload your updated resume for the employer’s perusal. You as the candidate have the liberty too to apply for your choice of opportunity available across various places in the US.

This kind of physician employment opportunities is a welcome change in modern times. For those who are ready to give it a try, this opportunity is free of any burden. This is a total independent opportunity without any kind of bindings on the person. The physician does not have to be grounded to any single healthcare organization or hospital or pay any kind of office overhead charges.

Locum tenens physician employment opportunities come with a certain degree of flexibility. One is that you are your own ruler. The terms of your employment are decided only by you. It is upto you to choose the organization with whom you want to work and the time period as well. This way you get to work with various organizations and make your work profile diverse. This also helps you to find job satisfaction and grow in your profession as well.

Being a part of an independent work profile also helps physicians to make considerable savings on tax deductions. Since you practically work as an independent professional, you can enjoy unreimbursed travel expenses, journal subscriptions and medical license application to mention some.

Opting for such physician employment opportunities is a first step to a retired life which might not be too far behind. Starting early helps as many who have all their lives worked with a single organization, are not aware of the ropes of an independent livelihood. Taking up locum tenens jobs now and then sort of gives a glimpse in what kind of life they could lead post retirement. Plus, the financial benefits are not bad while taking up these without any binding commitments. It totally depends upon you how you manage your finances and how much you can take on your plate.

For those who think that working as independent physicians means lack of commitment, are wrong. Rather, it is the other way round. Not linked to any healthcare organization or hospital means that you have to take responsibility of your own actions, both good and bad. Since you are on your own, no one is stand up for you in troubled times. Considering the fact that all professions come with some kind of high and low, physician employment opportunities as such are not a bad call. Rather if you have the confidence, you can actually be a succesful, confident and independent practitioner without the retirement bug ever biting you.

Do You Need To Worry About Pre-Employment Background Checks

The pre-employment background check is becoming more and more common place. As employers work to protect their places of employment from individuals that aren’t the best for the job or could pose a dangers to others, these background checks happen to be the tool of choice. After all, your past can say a lot about the person that you are and the person that you are likely to be, too. Yet, if you don’t have anything to hide in your past, should you really worry about what happens when a background check is done on you?

You Don’t Want It

Even for many individuals that have nothing in their past to be worried about, this type of privacy invasion is enough to bother them. In most cases, you can refuse to have one done, assuming that it isn’t a legal requirement for the position with the home such as when you are working with children or in the police department. Yet, doing this could potentially stop you from being hired anyway. Someone that refuses a background check is okay, but someone else that applies for the same position with the same qualifications and passes that pre-employment background check with flying colors is more likely to obtain the position.

Another concern that many have is the fact that the information on their pre-employment background check could mistakenly provide the wrong information. Perhaps there is information on your background check that is wrong. You could be suffering without realizing why. Or, perhaps it will uncover something that is potentially harmful but shouldn’t have anything to do with the current position in question. Sometimes, information can be taken out of context by the investigator and it could, ultimately effect your position with the company. Even some information that may be illegal for the investigator to consider in the hiring process could turn up. Although they technically can not use this to not hire you, it may leave them with a bad taste in their mouths, which could sway them the other way for other reasons.

Background checks are a potential nightmare for some individuals. If you have nothing to worry about, or so you think, you should still run a background check on yourself to determine if there are any potential problems lurking there. Doing so can at least give you peace of mind. Everyone needs to know what is in their background check.

Understanding The Definition Of Employment At Will

Like with most legal jargon, “employment at will” has both a formal definition and a practical one. In this case, the theory is easy. The basic definition of “employment at will” says the employer or the employee may end the working relationship at any time and for any reason without fearing legal action. This means the employer can fire or lay off the employee whenever they want. According to the theory, the employers do not have to explain why they fired their worker.

This definition also claims the employee may choose to quit his or her job at any time. Under such circumstances, the worker does not have to give the employer the reason for leaving his or her current position.

On its face, this is a simple law that should work for both the employer and the employee. Unfortunately in practice, “employment at will” is not so clear. While most states follow the formal definition, many lower courts have passed laws to cancel the employer’s rights. All of these laws have created many exceptions to the formal definition, and employers must keep this in mind if they need to fire someone.

Definition of Employment at Will: What It Means For Employers

So what does this mean for you, the employer, if you need to fire an underperforming employee? It’s simple. Wise employers do not fire employees without a reason and claim protection under “employment at will”. This is true even if you live in an “at will” state.

Almost every “at-will” state has exceptions an employer must consider. To make the situation more complex, these exceptions vary widely from state to state. It is a good idea to contact your state’s labor office to find out the laws that apply to you.

If you fire an employee and that person becomes angry, you could find yourself in a wrongful termination lawsuit. And as an employer, you don’t want these legal proceeding to go to court. Most courts favor the employee. This leaves the employer at the losing end and that costs time, money and productivity.

So how do you avoid such lawsuits? It’s a good idea for all employers to have standard termination procedures in place.

First, make sure you have an employee handbook with rules and regulations of the workplace. All employees must be aware of its contents. Second, make sure no manager fires an employee without giving a reason. Third, have standards in place so the reasons for termination are legal and fair. Fourth, train all managers in progressive discipline. Using this proven method, an employee termination will never take a worker by surprise. This will reduce their overall anger at the company.

It is true that “employment at will” suggests an employer doesn’t own an employee an explanation for losing his or her job. However, this simple definition does not translate directly into practice. Never depend on the formal definition of this law to protect you from a wrongful termination lawsuit.