What is an Employment Contract Lawyer?
A lawyer for an employment contract is legal counsel who helps people with the drafting, review, or negotiation of an employment contract . When you receive a new job offer, you may need to sign an employment contract. Although this may not always be necessary, many companies require the agreements.
Employment agreements typically cover things like sick time, benefits, and wages. Employers can use employment contracts to include enticing terms of employment as a way of obtaining new employees. They are also typical in high-earning job titles such as Senior Directors and CEOs to ensure loyalty and longevity.
If you need to sign an employment contract, it’s always a good idea to hire an employment contract lawyer to help you. The terms of these agreements can get tricky and without the right guidance, you could find yourself stuck in a job you don’t want.
Keep reading to find out what employment agreement lawyers do, how they charge fees and how much those fees cost, and whether an employment contract lawyer is right for you.
What Does an Employment Contract Lawyer Do?
When you receive a job offer letter that requires you to sign an employment agreement, employment contract lawyers can help. Since these contracts bind you to agreements that involve crucial parts of your job such as your salary and benefits, it’s never a bad idea to get help and will likely be a good return on your investment.
Here are some other common types for employment agreements:
- Full-Time Employment Agreement
- Consulting agreement
- Freelance contract
- Independent contractor agreement
Here are a few examples of what types of details employment contracts include and how employment lawyers can help:
Compensation
Perhaps the most important thing an employment contract includes is information about your compensation. This portion of the agreement determines how often you will be paid, and how.
Typically, two different types of payments are most popular in employment contract agreements:
- Hourly pay
- Salaried pay
As the name suggests, hourly pay is paid by the hour at a set rate determined at signing. Salaried pay indicates that you will be paid a set, pre-determined amount for all the work you complete in a pay period.
This portion of the contract can also include information about how much raises are, how raises are calculated, and how they are communicated. If you’re looking to receive regular raises, the details must be included in this portion of the contract.
If you’re expecting overtime pay or pay for holidays, that should be included here too.
Employment contract lawyers are helpful because they can help you understand how the compensation clauses in your contract affect you. Additionally, they can assist in negotiating higher pay and other areas of the compensation portion of your contract.
Vacation and Sick Time
Vacation and sick time are crucial parts of employment that determine how balanced your work and personal life are. When you advocate for a healthy work/life balance, you’re more likely to have the energy you need in your personal life.
Sick time ensures that you have an adequate number of hours each year to compensate for the time you are unable to come to work due to illness.
Vacation time ensures that when you need time to recharge, you don’t have to miss out on pay because you take time off work. Time off is just as important as time spent on the clock and greatly affects productivity and satisfaction in the workplace.
If your employment contract doesn’t include terms surrounding vacation or sick time, an employment lawyer can help advocate to get those items added in. They can also negotiate more hours a year for you if the number of hours offered isn’t satisfactory.
Benefits
The best workplaces care about their employees and want to take care of them. Benefits are one great way that they can make sure employees are in the best shape.
Some benefits that may be included in an employment contract are:
- Health insurance
- Dental benefits
- Eye coverage
- Extended leave
- Family leave
- Disability benefits
- Workers’ compensation
- Student loan payments
- Tuition reimbursement
Contract lawyers ensure the terms surrounding these areas are legally sound and beneficial for their clients. They can also negotiate better terms in these areas if needed.
After Termination Requirements
After employment is terminated, employers may have expectations of former employees outlined in the employment agreement. These post-termination requirements are legally binding, so if you don’t comply, you could get in serious legal trouble.
A severance agreement entails that when employment is ended, you may receive a lump-sum payment. This is intended to protect employers from being sued for wrongful termination if they choose to fire an employee.
If this type of clause is included in your contract, you would not be able to take legal action if you feel you were wrongly terminated. However, employers typically offer a cash payment to compensate you.
A non-compete agreement entails that you would not be able to go to work for a different employer in the same industry as your previous one for a set amount of time.
These clauses are meant to protect employers from losing good employees to competitors. It also helps ensure that previous employees don’t use their knowledge to help competitors.
Check out this article to learn more about employment contracts.
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Common Fee Structures for Employment Lawyers
Employment lawyers are a wonderful support to have in your corner. When you hire an employment contract lawyer, you invest in your future.
There are several different fee structures that employment lawyers use:
- Hourly
- Flat fee rates
It’s important to talk to your employment contract lawyer about fee structure options to make sure you choose an option that works best for you.
If you need extensive help with ongoing contract negotiations, for example, a flat fee rate might be more affordable.
On the other hand, if you need minimal review and revision services, you may be a better fit for an hourly rate. Employment lawyers can talk you through the process and help you choose the right choice.
Here is an article about common fee structures for employment lawyers.
Employment Contract Costs
Soliciting the help of an employment contract lawyer can get expensive – anywhere from $250 to $1,000, on average. When lawyers set their rates, they base them off on the amount of expertise they had, how much they had to pay for school, and what the rate other lawyers in your area charge are.
Even though paying an employment contract lawyer can be a large investment, it’s a necessary expense in most cases since understanding your employment contract agreement empowers you to ask for what you need and deserve.
It is always recommended to get in touch with a professional any time you sign a serious agreement such as an employment contract.
Learn more about employment contract costs by checking out this article .
Should I Have a Lawyer Review My Employment Contract?
If you need to sign an employment contract, getting the help of an employment contract lawyer is a great idea. Remember, having someone experienced on your team can allow you to get better benefits out of your employment. Post a project on ContractsCounsel today to get connected with employment contract lawyers today.
Des Moines, IA
14 Yrs Experience
Licensed in IA
City University School of Law
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