The arrangement between the employer and employee that is legally approved is called an employment contract. It is basically the terms and conditions set by the employer but reviewed and agreed upon by both parties. In most cases, it contains wages, sick time, benefits, etc. Also, company policy is included in this contract.
As it is legally approved, if any breach of contract happens, the law is there to have your back against the breach. In such a case, the person who can help you is called an employment contract lawyer.
They can help you with your contract at any stage of your employment. Before agreeing to the contract, they can check it, describe it, and suggest if any change or modification is needed. If you don’t figure out any part of the contract, they can help you with it. If you think any rule of the contract is breached, you can take their help.
What do Employment Contract Lawyers Do?
Describe the Contract
They describe the contract to you so that you understand the company policies and other terms and conditions regarding salary, compensation, overtime, promotion, etc.
This service is crucial when you don’t clearly understand the contract. Also, they can help you by describing the job roles, tasks, and limitations.
In a word, they describe the entire contract to make you completely aware of it.
Termination Rights
The company’s right of termination is one of the contract’s most crucial and complex parts. It describes when the company can terminate an employee. It is often tricky.
An employment contract attorney can help you understand the termination rules and rights of the company so that you remain aware of them.
Help You Understand if Any Breach Happens
If you doubt any breach of contract made by the other party but are unsure of it, lawyers can help you. Go to your employment contract lawyer and discuss the situation. They can review the contract and ensure you whether any breach has happened or not.
Help you Handle the Breach
If any breach of employment contract happens, lawyers can help you handle it. It can be fixed by talking to the employer. So, they can help you in the negotiation.
In case discussion doesn’t help improve the situation, they can help you take legal steps.
Thus, they are with you in handling the situation.
Help You Make an Employment Contract
If you’re an employer and want to make an employment contract fulfilling all the legal requirements, an employment contract lawyer can help you. They have enough idea about employment and labor laws.
Also, they know other laws related to employment. Thus, they can help you build a strong and perfect contract.
Changes and Adjustments in Employment Contract
If you want any change or adjustment in the existing employment contract, such lawyers can help you. Besides making lawful adjustments in the contract, they can help you discuss and negotiate the updates with the other parties.
Help in Making Self-Employment Contract
In recent years, we’ve seen a boom in self-employment. People are working as self-employed in different organizations. Such jobs are somehow different as provident funds and some other factors are not associated with such employment.
Employment contract lawyers can help you design contracts for self-employment.
Other Situations
Besides the above, such lawyers can help you with other embarrassing situations in the office, for example- false claim of breach, threats by the employer, discriminatory manners, forceful signing of unlawful agreements, etc.
In a word, an employment contract lawyer can help employers and employees design, understand, modify, negotiate, and take lawful steps regarding employment contracts.
How to Select an Employment Contract Lawyer?
Finding and selecting a lawyer or attorney for employment contracts requires following some steps. You can always pick one randomly, but that won’t bring you the right person in most cases. As your job is related to it, you should pick someone qualified. You can do that by following the process below.
Step 1- Look for Recommendations
Ask people around you or related organizations for recommendations first. Doing this would help you make a list of compatible lawyers regarding your situation.
Your family, friends, or fellow employees can help you with suggestions. Also, you can do a quick search in the search engines for compatible employment contract attorneys around you.
Your local bar association can help you with recommendations. If you know any attorney who works in a different field, ask them for recommendations.
Thus, you can easily list around 12-15 lawyers or law firms handling employment contract cases.
Step 2- Researching the Recommendations
In this step, you have to research the options. For this, look for their websites and online presence. Nowadays, most lawyers and law firms have websites or social media profiles. Check those and have an overall idea about them.
Check their certifications and previous experience with similar cases. Also, don’t forget to check for an ethics violation in your state’s disciplinary commission.
Also, checking reviews and ratings is a must. You can find them on different service or business rating websites.
Based on the overall judgment in this step, rate all and pick the top 4-5 options for the next step.
Step 3- Contacting Directly
Now it’s time to make direct communication. Talk to them over the phone or e-mail and schedule a session. Most lawyers or law firms offer free or low-fee consulting sessions—book one.
In the session, describe your situation or need. Then discuss your next step, the best thing you can do, who’ll handle the case, fee structure, etc.
Keep an eye on their communication and interpersonal skills.
Step 4- Choose an Attorney
After a session with the top 4-5 options, you can pick the best one based on their communication skills, fees, approach to your situation, etc.
Questions to Ask an Employment Contract Attorney?
In the discussion session, when you first meet your options, you need to ask some questions regarding your case and their view. Typically, the questions you ask differ based on your situation.
Here are the most common questions you must ask the attorney in the first meeting.
How long have you been working with such cases?
Asking this question helps you to have an idea about their experience with similar situations. As you want to have the best benefit, you must hire someone experienced. Your previous screening in step two may give a blur idea about their experience, but asking this question will help you have a clear idea.
Do I have a valid standpoint?
You should have a valid standpoint to get the best output from the case. After describing your situation and claim, ask them such questions to know your situation.
Also, they can help you make a valid standpoint if possible. So, while discussing your situation, don’t hide anything.
Is it possible to fix it without a lawsuit?
Going for a lawsuit is a lengthy and costly option. It is always best to seek other options, like face-to-face negotiation. So, you should ask this question to your lawyer.
If there is any easier option, you should go for that.
How do you charge?
The fee and fee structure has an important impact on your decision. So, ask for their charge and how they count it. Some may ask for a flat fee, while some may charge hourly. Also, the amount they charge varies. I’ll discuss it later.
Don’t hesitate to talk about money. Have a clear idea about it. Any communication gap regarding fees may result in an embarrassing situation later.
Is there any conflict of interest?
Conflict of interest may arise if the attorney has worked with your employer before. In such a situation, your right may be compromised by the attorney. So, you must ask this question. If any attorney has already worked for your employer or they have any connection, you should avoid hiring them.
How much do Employment Contract Attorneys Cost?
Hiring an employment contract lawyer is a bit different compared to other lawyers. In most cases, you hire such lawyers for specific tasks or discussions instead of filing lawsuits and seeking compensation. So, the fee structure is also different.
Where most other attorneys seek a contingency payment plan, attorneys for employment contracts are open for two types of fee structure- hourly and flat fee.
The fee varies based on the type of work they do for you.
If you hire someone to prepare an employment contract for your organization, you may have to spend around $300-$1,000 based on the experience of the lawyer. On the other hand, you have to pay hourly $200-$400 for consultations.
They can negotiate your case with the other party or their attorneys. In such cases, most attorneys ask for an hourly charge. They keep track of the number of hours spent on your case. You have to pay based on that.
However, in ongoing negotiation cases, going for a flat fee can be the best option for you. An hourly fee is suitable when revising, discussing, or consulting your situation.
When Do I Need to Hire an Employment Contract Lawyer?
Typically, when you’re going through an employment process that needs you to sign a contract, you should hire someone who can help you. However, if you understand the terms and conditions of the contract, you can overlook the need for a lawyer. Most people do this.
In this step, if you think some terms and conditions are unlawful and need modification, you can take the help of a legal professional to check them.
Also, after joining the job, if you think the contract is being breached and you’re being treated unlawfully, going to a legal professional to help you assess and understand the situation is recommended. They can help you understand if the contract is breached or not.
If your employer breaches the contract to some extent and you want to negotiate it, taking the help of a lawyer is mandatory. There is a chance that your employer will have a lawyer in the negotiation process. To negotiate and protect your interest, you need a legal professional too. They know the laws created to protect the employee’s best interest.
In a situation where you’re sued or blamed for violating a term of the contract, a legal professional can help you. They can assess the contract and the situation for which you’re blamed. If you’re intentionally blamed without fault, they can protect you. Also, if the liability is valid, they can help you get rid of it, costing as little as possible.
In every situation discussed above, hiring an employment contract lawyer can help you tackle unwanted results if you’re an employee.
Hiring someone experienced with employee contracts is like an investment if you’re an employer. They can help you create employee contracts for different positions in your company. Also, you need to hire one to protect your business from wrongful claims made by employees.
Ownership Change and Employee Protection
Even if you carefully check the contract and find no issue, the ownership can be changed anytime after joining an organization. In such situations, the new owners may not focus on protecting the employee interest similarly as they have their own plan.
Employee contract lawyers can help you in such situations too. They know the Transfer of Undertaking (Protection of Employee) Regulation law designed to protect the employees’ interest when a new party takes over a company.
So, you can communicate with a lawyer in such situations too. They can help if your new employer changes terms and conditions without prior notice.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is the specialization of employment contract attorneys?
Such attorneys are specialized in employment law and labor law, as these two are the most common laws that help them protect their clients’ best interests. Also, they must have knowledge about other laws regarding employment and business.
Also, they must have a good idea about the employment law of the specific state they serve in.
Do employment contract attorneys handle all types of employment issues?
They can help you with any employment issue covered by an employer-employee contract by law. Lawyers can’t do much for you if you don’t sign a contract before joining the job.
Whom can employment contract lawyers help?
They can help employers and employees from a broad perspective. But they can help many other parties related to a business or organization. High officials of an organization, for example- Senior Executives, Directors, Board Members, and Partners, can seek help from them.
Also, they can help professionals, service providers, consultants, and self-employed professionals.