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Employment Law And Contract Of Employment

What Is an Employment Contract?
An employment contract is a signed agreement between an employee and employer. It
establishes both the rights and responsibilities of the two parties: the worker and the
company.

Read below for more information on what is included, and the pros and cons of a
contract.

What is Included in an Employment Contract

Also known as a contract of employment or employment agreement, an employment

contract lays out the rights and responsibilities of both employer and employee. More
specifically an employment contract can include: 

 Salary or wages: Contracts will itemize the salary, wage, or commission that
has been agreed upon.
 Schedule: In some cases, an employment contract will include the days and
hours an employee is expected to work. 
 Duration of employment: An employment contract will specify the length of
time the employee agrees to work for the company. In some cases, this might be
an ongoing period of time. In other cases, it might be an agreement set for a
specific duration. Other times, a minimum duration is laid out, with the
possibility of extending that period.

 General responsibilities: Contracts can list the various duties and tasks a

worker will be expected to fulfill while employed.
 Confidentiality: Although you may have to sign a separate non-disclosure
agreement, sometimes a contract might include a statement about
confidentiality. 
 Communications: If an employee's role involves handling social media,
websites or email, a contract might include a point that the company retains
ownership and control over all communications. 
 Benefits: A contract should lay out all promised benefits, including, but not
limited to, health insurance, 401k, vacation time, and any other perks that are
part of the employment.

 Future competition: Sometimes a contract will include a non-compete

agreement(also known as an NCC). This is an agreement stating that, upon
leaving the company, the employee will not enter into jobs that will put him or
her in competition with the company. Often an employee will have to sign a
separate NCC, but it also might be included in the employment contract.

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Other possible terms include an ownership agreement (stating that the employer owns
any work-related materials produced by the employee), information on solving
disputes at work, or qualifications on where the employee can work after leaving the
company (this is a way to limit competition between related companies).

Benefits and Drawbacks of a Written Employment Contract

A written contract is a great way to clearly define the job, your responsibilities, and
your benefits. It prevents any confusion about the job.

However, be sure to carefully read all elements of an employment contract before

signing it. Make sure that you are comfortable with every part of the contract. If you
break the contract, there might be legal consequences. Therefore, make sure you are
able to uphold every part of the written agreement. For example, if the contract
requires you to stay at the job for a minimum period, make sure you will be able to do
this. Also, if the contract places limits on where you can work upon leaving the
company, consider whether or not you are comfortable with this.

Implied Employment Contracts

An implied employment contract is one that is inferred from comments made during
an interview or job promotion, or from something said in a training manual or
handbook. For example:

 Implied contracts can be inferred from actions, statements, or past employment

history of the employer. 
 An employee may have seen or recorded a history of promotions, raises, and
annual reviews for themselves and their coworkers.
 During an interview, a potential employee may be told that the employee’s job
is a long-term or permanent position in place unless they are fired for a good
reason. 

Enforcing an Implied Contract

While implied contracts are difficult to prove, they are binding. Employees can prove
that an implied contract was established by pointing out actions, statements, policies,
and practices of the company that led them to believe with reasonable cause that the
promise would come to fruition.

What Is Employee or Job Poaching?

Employee poaching (also known as job poaching, talent poaching, or employee

raiding) is when a company hires an employee from a competing company. Employee
poaching often happens in growing industries that require employees with high-
demand skills. For example, poaching is common in the IT industry because
employers need workers with high-demand technical skills.

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While some companies once made no-poaching agreements with each other, many of
these companies no longer do so. However, there are many other ways that employers
still try to prevent job poaching.

Agreements Not to Poach Employees

Previously, some tech companies had agreed not to poach each other's employees.
Some of these agreements stated that companies could not practice “cold calling,”
which refers to companies soliciting each other's employees.

However, after an investigation into no-poaching hiring practices, a settlement was

reached between the U.S. Department of Justice and major tech companies, including
Adobe, Apple, Google, Intel, Intuit, and Pixar. The companies under investigation
agreed to no longer make no-poaching agreements with their competition.

According to a statement from the Justice Department, these kinds of agreements

create a “form of competition, [that] when unrestrained, results in better career
opportunities" for workers. Basically, no-poaching agreements limited employee’s
opportunities for career and income growth.

What the End of No-Poaching Agreements Means for Workers

The end of no-poaching agreements has a number of possible benefits for employees.
According to a survey of large employers by professional services firm Towers
Watson, the average raise is around 3 percent per year.

Switching jobs might actually net workers considerably more, especially if they're
looking for a job while they have a job, and can afford to wait for an offer that's
financially attractive. This is sometimes called “job hopping.”

Employee-poaching agreements prevent workers from taking advantage of job

hopping to boost their salaries. Without these agreements in place, workers can change
jobs as often as they choose in order to increase their earnings and pursue better
opportunities.

Not only does this potentially lead to fatter paychecks in the short-term, but in the
long-term it might also benefit workers by providing them chances to learn new
skills, earn promotions that lead to better job titles, and acquire more and better
brand-name employers on their resumes.

Job hopping isn't without its risks, of course; switch jobs too often, and you run the
risk of appearing disloyal or lacking in professional focus. But the ability to change
jobs when you need to, without worrying about no-poaching agreements preventing
the move, is important for career growth.

No-Poaching vs. Non-Compete Agreements

While no-poaching agreements are (for the most part) illegal, non-compete

agreements are another story. A non-compete agreement or non-compete clause (also
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known as an NCC) is a contract between an employee and employer. It states that the
employee will not enter into competition with the employer after he or she terminates
employment. This usually means the employee cannot work for the company’s
competitors or start his or her own competing business.

The purpose of a non-compete clause is to prevent a former employee from

taking trade secrets to a competitor after terminating employment. It can also be used
to prevent an employee from opening up a competing business.

What companies cannot do, however, is to prevent workers from working at a

competing company indefinitely. Non-compete clauses generally cover a set period of
time, often a few months, to prevent workers from jumping directly from one
employer to a competitor after the termination of their employment. But companies
cannot ask workers to promise not to work for a competing company for the remainder
of their careers, or for a period of time that would impact their careers.

Non-compete agreements typically include the effective date on which the agreement
will begin, the reason for enacting the agreement, the dates when the worker will be
prohibited from working with a competitor, the location of the agreement, and details
about compensation in exchange for the employee agreeing to the NCC.

If you're asked to sign an employment contract containing a non-compete clause, your

best bet is to seek legal counsel. In some states (such as California), non-competes
are disregarded altogether, and every state has its own set of laws regarding the
enforceability of NCCs.

Other Ways to Limit Employee Poaching

Employers might try to prevent employee poaching in ways other than a non-compete
clause. For example, an employer might provide workers with incentive plans. An
incentive plan might offer employees bonuses that are tied to the future success of the
company. This can provide employees with a monetary incentive to stay at the
company. It can also encourage workers to contribute to the success of the company.

Some employers also try to limit poaching by helping employees feel connected to the
company. They might do this by creating a morale-boosting company culture. The
employer might organize initiatives or activities to make workers feel connected to the
company, and feel like they are part of a team. This will make employees less likely to
leave the company for another job.

IV. ASSIGNMENT

ASSIGNMENT 1

Test 1

QUESTIONS: (Choose the best response for each one)

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 1. We're writing you in _______________ to (= about) the email we received
on...

a) Regards b) Regarding c) View

2. __________________________... = On the other hand...

a) Conversely b) Regrettably c) Incredibly

3. I received your email, in which you______________ (= described in detail) your

plan to launch the product by next March.

a) Dated b) Mentioned c) Outlined

4. Sorry for ________________ back to you so late. = Sorry for the late response.

a) Coming b) Getting c) Responding

5. Let's ___________________________ ( = arrange) a meeting for Friday.

a) make up b) think up c) set up

6. At the present time... = At ___________________________ time...

a) this b) current c) now

7. We usually ____________________ ( = communicate with) clients directly.

a) deal with b) delve into c) dole out

8. It would really ____________ if you could send me some additional information

a) aid me out b) find it helpful c) help me out

9. I believe we should take a different ______. = I think we should do something
different.

a) action item b) course of action c) action plan

10. I've______ ( = examined) your payment history, and I did notice the discrepancy
that you mentioned.

a) locked into b) looked into c) loaned out

ASSIGNMENT 2

Choose the best response for each one

1) Managers should expand their vocabulary because using complicated words

will impress others.

a.True b.False

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 2) A topic sentence explains what the paragraph is all about.

a.True b.False

3) Managers spend time rewriting memos, reports, and letters.

a.True b.False

4) While it is not easy to write effectively, the task will be less difficult if you
______ well.
a.Speak b.Write c.Plan d.Organize

5) Which of the following sentences is an example of specific, active language?

a.Their lunches will be brought to them soon.

b.Katarina arrived for her breakfast shift at 6 a.m. today.
c.The new executive housekeeper has many skills.
d.Lots of guests say good things about the food on the menu.

6) Which of the following sentences is an example of a passive sentence?

a..Joseph escorted the guests to the hospitality suite.
b..Jennifer demonstrated how to use the in-room bar.
c..Martin finished his security rounds on the first floor before he called into the front
desk.
d..Mary was given two days to study the employee manual.

7) Which of the following sentences is an example of an active sentence?

a.Clients must feel comfortable that they have been taken care of by the sales staff.
b. At small properties, the dining room is supervised by the dining room manager.
c.Bakers prepare a wide variety of bakery products following standard recipes.
d.Food servers are assisted by bus persons in clearing tables and re-setting them

8) Consulting files or speaking with others in your department will help you know
what your topic is and determine a purpose for writing.

a.True b.False

QUESTIONS 3 : 
(Choose the best response for each one)

1. Could you please _____________________ that email that you got from
Frank.
a. forward me b. forward to me c.forward it to me
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 2. When you send your report to Tom, make sure to________________ me as
well.

a. send b. copy (or cc - pron. "seesee") c. forward

3. Somehow your email ended up in my ______________________ folder.

a. trash mail b. bad mail c. junk mail

4. You must have ______________________ my message by mistake.

a. deleted b. delete c. destroyed

5. Sending someone a "hidden" copy of an email is known as:

a. cheating
b. cc-ing someone (pron. seeseeing someone)
c. bcc-ing someone (pron. beeseeseeing someone)

6. To send something by mistake = To send something

______________________.

a. by chance b. by accident c. by error

7. You should always use appropriate, businesslike language in all

_______communications. 

a.electronic b. electric c.electrode

8. I thanked him for his ______________________ ( = answer).

a. replication b.reply c.replay

9. Many big companies have a system which__________ ( = keeps track of/

checks) their employees' email.

a.monitor b. monitors c.looks

10. I didn't get that ______________________ ( = file that is attached to a

message).

a .attack b.copy c. attachment