Looking to write a permanent employment contract for your workers?
A permanent employment contract will help you set the proper groundwork for a productive work relationship. It tells employees what you expect from them. You’ll also lay out what they can expect from you.
But unless you’ve written these contracts before, you might not know where to start. Below, we’ll get into everything you need to know about writing a permanent employment contract.
Sample Permanent Employment Contract
If you need a permanent employment contract sample, take a look at the following:
What Is a Permanent Employment Contract?
So, what is a permanent employment contract? A permanent employment contract offers employees indefinite employment. Most workers under this type of contract stay with a company for years.
As such, these types of contracts make the most sense for companies that need permanent workers. If you’re trying to stop turnover in your company, you should consider using permanent employment contracts.
That way, you won’t have to renew or renegotiate contracts every few months.
Usually, a permanent employment contract is an at-will employment agreement. This means either the employer or the employee can terminate the contract at any time and for any reason. Neither party is required to give a reason for their departure.
If the idea of an employee quitting suddenly worries you, don’t let it. Most employees hand in a two weeks notice before leaving their jobs. In most cases, employees are not required to give a two weeks notice.
Yet, many workers consider it best practice to do so. Some employers make giving two weeks’ notice a company policy.
What is the difference between contract and permanent employment?
Permanent employment and other types of contracts differ in the length of the employment offered. Many contracts have a specified expiration date.
Permanent employment contracts, on the other hand, don’t end until one of the parties terminates the employment.
How to Write a Permanent Employment Contract?
Before you write a permanent employment contract, you should gather all your details. You’ll need to know the following:
- The full name of your company
- The full name of the new employee (make sure you double-check the name for the correct spelling)
- The worker’s first day of work
- Information related to compensation (for example, the amount of pay per year, hour, or project, based on your agreement with your new employee)
- The number of hours the person will work per week
- Information paid sick leave
- Holidays and information on paid time off (PTO)
- The job description, including the job title
- Place of work
You can also include information on any benefits the worker will receive. This may include health, dental, and vision insurance, free lunch Fridays, or any other perks you offer your workers.
Step 1 – Title Your Contract
Now, you’re ready to move on to the writing portion of the contract. First, you’ll want to title your contract. For the sake of ease, give it a simple, straightforward title that describes the nature of the agreement.
Something along the lines of “Employment Agreement” works well in most cases.
Step 2 – Identify the Parties Involved
Your opening portion will need to identify the parties involved in the signing of the contract. In most cases, this will be your company and the new employee. You should use the full legal name of the company and the employee.
For example, write: This is an at-will employment agreement between Happy Smiles Marketing, Inc. and Amelia Jackson.
Step 3 – Establish the Terms and Conditions
Some terms and conditions are required by state and federal law. A permanent full-time employment contract template will also include information on how many hours the person will work.
If the worker isn’t full-time, you should mention how many hours you expect them to spend on their projects per week. You also should include information on severance packages.
Some of these details vary by jurisdiction. So, you should check your local labor laws to see what you’re required to include.
You might also want to consider informing employees of their right to reasonable accommodations if they have a disability.
Step 4 – Specify the Job Responsibilities
A good permanent employment contract template always tells the employee what you expect them to do. You should go into this even if you wrote the job responsibilities on the application or have spoken to the employee about them.
Your workers have a right to know what you expect of them. It’s also easier to have the agreed-upon responsibilities in writing so that both parties can go back and review them as needed.
You should include as many responsibilities as you can think of. This sometimes proves challenging to businesses that have heavy workloads and need employees to wear several different hats.
If this is the case in your situation, you should add the phrase “perform other duties as assigned” to the end of the job responsibilities description.
That way, your worker will know you might have other responsibilities for them and won’t get surprised when they come up.
You should also include where the work will get done. If your employee works remotely or only comes into the office on certain days, talk about this in the contract or use a work from home policy.
Step 5 – Include Compensation Details
The perfect permanent employment contract example includes information on how your worker will get paid. This includes specifying how much your employee will get paid by the year, hour, or project.
You should also mention how the worker will get paid.
For example, tell the employee if you plan on paying them by direct deposit or any other means.
