Types of Employment Contracts

Most employment contracts are “at will” agreements readily voidable contracts by either the employee or the employer.  These agreements generally arise in one of three generally accepted forms:

Employment Contract Agreements

• Oral Employment Contract - An oral employment contract is an agreement in words between the employer and employee detailing the employment relationship agreement that is not reduced to a formal writing.  These contracts are often recognized by courts as implied contracts and may still be fully enforced pursuant to a breach of oral contract law suit.
• Written Employment Contract - A written agreement clearly describing and defining the employer – employee relationship, the salary, the duration of the job, all of the employee’s responsibilities, all benefits offered such as health insurance, life insurance, all grounds for termination, limitations on employee ability to compete with the employer upon termination of the relationship, protection of trade secrets and customer lists, ownership of employee work product and designated method of resolving all disputes.
• Implied Employment Contract - An implied employment contract is an agreement or covenant of good faith which may or may not have been reduced to a writing, which may be in whole or in part “implied by law” or recognized by the courts as a validly existing agreement between the parties based on recognized legal doctrines of equity, sound public policy, fair dealing and the performance of the parties in fulfilling their agreement.

Commercial Contracts

Commercial contracts are generally not employment contracts.  Commercial contracts are usually bilateral agreements entered into between two or more business entities concerning the provision of services.  This is essentially a contract between one or more independent contracts to and one or more business entities for services or goods.  An independent contractor is not an employee.  He may have a contract with a business entity for the provision of services but that contract is never an employment contract regardless of whether or not there is a written statement defining that agreement.    

Construction Contracts

Construction contracts do not always also function as employment contracts. These are again bilateral agreements which may include promises to use union members on the construction work site to complete construction jobs but it will be pivotal in determining a union members employee rights for an employment attorney to accurately determine the correct contractor as employer responsible to employee union members for salary payments, provision of a safe work environment and worker’s compensation benefits.

Legal Advice for Employment Conracts

Before signing any contract, it is important to obtain legal advice from an experienced employment attorney who can help you to protect all of your rights and interests.

More Info: Employment Contract Example