Employment Agreements Are Critical

If you run a business, never be without an employment agreement. It will be the best thing that you ever do to protect the business.

At one time people used to be hired to work somewhere with very little in the way of formal paperwork. Sometimes it was even just a handshake hiring where the employer’s word ruled and the employee did what was requested of them as part of their job.

These days the times have changed drastically, and in addition to it being essential to have an employment agreement, the workplace has changed to one where adversity and employment issues often seem to be the flavors of the month.

If you own and operate a business in the 21st century, one of the first things you will need to have in place is a binding agreement for work between your company and any executive you may choose to hire. The bottom line is that the person is agreeing to perform various services in trade for a wage. This kind of an agreement is not to be confused with an executive compensation agreement. The executive employment agreement, as outlined by an expert business attorney, is binding and once the agreement has been signed by both parties, they are promising to live up to the terms of the agreement.
Generally speaking an executive employment agreement has what is referred to as a recitals section that speaks to the purpose of the agreement. In most instances, the first recital refers to the company wanting to hire a certain person in an executive position, and that person wants to be hired in the position. In other words, although the language may be legal, the intent is straightforward enough.

Common elements usually found in an executive employment agreement are compensation and benefits offered, the term of employment, the duties to be performed by the executive, the duties the employer has to perform, a section dealing with keeping information confidential, a non-competition agreement and what happens in the event of termination clause.

Typically these types of agreements are best drafted with the assistance of a skilled business attorney who will outline the “must have” sections in agreements of this nature.

Jack Zinda is an Austin business lawyer with Heselmeyer Zinda, PLLC. To learn more about Austin business attorney Jack Zinda visit Texasbusinessattorneys.net.

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