If you are a small business owner, you may have a standard employment contract that all new hires must sign. But the problem is that your contract may have so many loopholes that it is virtually unenforceable or so restrictive that a court is sure to strike it down in a challenge.
The best employment contracts will benefit both the employer and the employee without overly favoring one and not the other. Certainly, you want your own interests to be reflected and protected by the contract. But without providing value to your employee as well, it can be virtually useless.
For instance, the section on scope of employment needs to clearly delineate your employee’s job duties and responsibilities. If your business has several branches in other cities and states, can your employee be relocated against their wishes if duty calls or must they consent to a future move? These issues will become very important to you at some future point, so make sure that each point is properly addressed in your employment contract.
What about potential conflicts of interest on the part of your employee? Could their involvement with community activities or politics be construed as conflicting with the interests of the business? Don’t wait until a situation develops and forces you to muddle through it blindly. You could wind up getting sued in civil court by a former employee if you fail to adequately cover all of your bases.
A Houston business law attorney can review your employment contract and make some suggestions for improving it so that it more closely reflects the best interests of your business.
