Nowadays, job hunting is a painstaking process. There is indescribable relief when an employer finally tells you that they want you in their team. All you have to do now is wait for the employment contract so that you can make things official. But first, you have to read all the terms of the contract in full.
Reading through the employment contract is one of the most crucial parts of the job hunting process. It’s important to make sure that you’re not accidentally agreeing to something that could be unfair to you as an employee. Here are some red flags to look out for in employment contracts so you can protect yourself and your career.
The contract has vague information or choice of words.
Pay attention to the clarity or vagueness of the terms of the employment contract. Some employers write their contracts using vague choice of words to deliberately create loopholes that they can take advantage of. For example, the job description could be written vaguely so that they can add responsibilities to your workload that weren’t in the job posting. If that happens, you won’t be able to dispute it properly in the future, because your employer can always claim that these responsibilities are technically in the job description. Read the contract carefully to make sure that it has no room for potential loophole exploitation.
The contract has unreasonable clauses.
Most employment contracts have multiple clauses. It’s important to note that not all contract clauses are unreasonable. It would be up to your discernment to determine if these clauses are there to protect the company’s rights, or if they’re trying to take advantage of you as an employee. You can encounter different kinds of clauses in employment contracts. Here are a few examples:
- A non-compete clause prevents employees from working for any of the company’s competitors for a specified amount of time after leaving. Be wary of contracts with non-compete clauses that are too long, such as for several years. These can prevent you from advancing your career in your field.
- A repayment clause requires employees to pay the employer any expenses they made on your behalf if you leave the company before a specified amount of time. Often employers implement this clause to prevent employees from resigning, trapping them in their position. If your contract has a repayment clause, think carefully before signing. You could end up trapped in an unfulfilling job for the next few months or years.
- An arbitration clause prevents employees from being able to take their employers to court and forces all disputes to be settled through arbitration instead. The employee would then have very limited legal options available to them, should any legal issues arise between the employee and the employer. The security and power of having access to legal advice and remedies are crucial, so think carefully before signing an employment contract with an arbitration clause.
Note that these aren’t the only contract clauses you can find in your employment contract. Once you receive a copy of your employment contract, be sure to read everything carefully. Think about how the clause can affect your future career and relationship with your employer.
There are inaccuracies that don’t reflect what you and the employer have agreed upon.
If your employer has promised you something during your interview, such as a certain salary range, job title, or level of seniority, make sure that they are reflected in your contract. Many companies will tell you what you want to hear only to write something completely different in the contract.
This also applies to any inconsistencies between the original job posting and your contract. For example, the duties in the contract could be entirely different from what’s on the job posting. You could end up stuck with too much in your workload. The could also assign you responsibilities that you did not want to do.
If there are any inconsistencies in your contract, be sure to bring it up with the hiring manager. If they are unwilling to re-negotiate their terms, you may have to reconsider accepting the offer.