Employment Agreement: Fill & Download for Free

I’m interviewing now and there are too many to limit to just one. Sadly, I learn a new one at least once a week.When one of the first questions out a potential employer’s mouth is “How much do you currently make (or did you make in your last job)?”. a) That’s personal information; b) Why is that relevant to this job? I’m assuming they are quite different with different challenges, etc. and c) do you really want to hire a CFO who is dumb enough to give away his price upon first meeting him/her? How is that going to work when that CFO is trying to sell your business or raise capital for you?“Hi, I’m Cassidy/Montana/Zac/Brittany/Colt ”. The names have nothing to do with the red flag but I’m talking about the 24 year old “talent acquisition specialist” attached to that name who’s been with the company for 4 months and who will conduct the initial interview (granted this is usually a phone interview but still). I’m going to rant a bit because this seems to be common in the US especially with start-ups that are at the point where they need a CFO. Look, if you own or founded the company and you’re looking for a CFO or other CXO, you might want to get involved directly rather than leave it to the newest person on your team who a) understands the least about your business and b) probably has no idea what a CFO, COO, or other CXO really does because he/she simply lacks enough experience to determine a good CXO from a bad one. This also goes for using a headhunter with little knowledge about the role. I can not stress this enough. I can only imagine how many strong candidates slipped away because their initial interview with a company was with someone who knows very little and determined that that very experienced candidate’s skill set was not a “100% exact match” with with some random job description your company is using. I’m positive it’s happened to me and happens to others. If you are the CEO, President or Owner you really need to own the hiring process for any CXO because it’s f&ck*ng important! I actually had one headhunter tell me last month that the CEO of an established company did not want to get involved in the CFO search at all (GIANT RED FLAG!).What’s your full name, birthdate, full home address, social security number, etc., etc., etc. before you’ve even had a chance to do anything but read the job description. This type of request should come at the end of the process when the new-hire is joining your company not when you are arranging an introductory initial phone call to discuss the role.A very big red flag is if the company often stresses that they are in an “at-will” state. (for non-Americans reading this: in the US 49/50 states have a legal classification called “at-will” employment which allows employers to fire any employee at any time for any reason other than for things like gender, age, race, etc. which they all do any way but just they say the firing occurred due to poor job performance). Any employer that continually brings this up during an interview should be viewed very suspiciously because they are, in effect, saying “we can fire you any time we want” which to me isn’t the best way to start an employer-employee relationship.For senior roles, and somewhat related to item 4 above; “we don’t do employment agreements”. Excuse me, but you’re asking me with my 25 years of experience to come here and do a good job for you and you operate in an at-will state so to entice me you really need to comfort me with some form of security so yes I’d like an employment agreement. This has happened a couple of times and one guy even told me that there would be no employment agreement but then mentioned that he has an employment agreement because he negotiated it with his investors. No thanks.

I do indeed.I learned to get more comfortable with legal agreements whilst being a software contractor for a while. I’m no legal expert, but I can usually grasp what’s going on.Most standard employment contracts are pretty straightforward. Over the course of 1000 words or so, they say, “Show up; do the work; don’t rob anything; don’t screw us over.”I’m often a bit bemused by some of the unenforceable non-compete type clauses that UK employers throw-in on the off chance. I’ve learned not to worry too much about those.The big lesson is that a legal agreement has potential power both for you and against you. It is wise to see ‘what you’re signing up for’. Hence that common expression.

It depends on a few things:Do you have an employment agreement? Although the existence of an employment agreement does not equate to legal rights, there might be some language therein that grants you some sort of warning or review process. The same is true for employment agreements that have a set duration of employment as well as contracts for executives within a company.Has your employer granted you protection in any other way? Although an employment agreement is handy for proof purposes, it’s possible your employer gave you extra rights in an email, letter, employment handbook, or verbally. For example, the mentioning of “Tonya don’t worry about applying for a new job - I will give you a raise next month and a guarantee you’ll have a job for another year” can be considered an implied contract. However, it’s much harder to prove.If you’re unsure if you have a right to written notification before termination then feel free to visit LawTrades. We’re a legal marketplace that connects people with talented and affordable attorneys. Our employment attorneys are well versed at assessing your current situation to see if your employer violated any of your employment rights. We offer free initial consultations as well as quick & easy price quotes. Hope you give us a visit!