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.