Employment agreements are necessary for businesses that hire employees. Employment agreements are contracts made between an employer and employee. Employment agreements are usually used to specify the terms of the employment, protect an employer from unlawful action by an employee, detail terms for any confidentiality necessary to protect information, and to safeguard the employer from any possible theft from his or her employees. There are several types of employment agreements including: non-compete contracts, non-disclosure contracts, and employment terms contracts.

A non-compete contract is an employment agreement that forbids an employee from collaborating with or working for a competitor. This helps employers take the risk of investing in training their employees without the fear of those employees taking that training or expertise to any competitor. Some non-compete contracts have specific time periods or locations stated under the terms along with a designation of jobs the employees must avoid in the future.

Confidentiality agreements, often referred to as non-disclosure agreements or NDAs, are important to businesses that have trade secrets. These businesses must sometimes reveal sensitive information about their methods, strategies, procedures, or products and do not want their employees to leak anything to competitors. In that kind of delicate situation, confidentiality agreements protect their business. Generally, confidentiality agreements specify the names of the parties, the date of the contract, the time-frame the information must be kept confidential, the nature of the confidential information, the circumstances under which the obligation applies, any exceptions to the agreement, and any remedies that can be enforced due to a breach of the confidentiality agreement.

An employment terms contract is an employment agreement that defines the duties of the job, duration of the job, rules and regulation relating to the job, the salary, any benefits of the job, the grounds for termination and firing of employees, legal fees arising from an employee suing the employer, and any other terms the employer likes to enforce. Employment terms contracts can sometimes be negotiated between employers and employees, as often is the case with collective bargaining negotiations. However, once the employment terms contract is signed between the two sides, it has the force of law and courts generally uphold the contract unless it entails any illegal terms.

In the state of Virginia, employment agreements are negotiable. Employers and employees can negotiate on the terms and come to a compromise. At Raheen Law Group, we can assist clients with reviewing and understanding before signing an employment agreement. We can help negotiate the terms of an employment agreement to protect the interests of potential employees under the agreement. We can also assist employers with drafting and creating legally binding employment agreements or negotiating agreements that help protect the business from any potential harm from employees and competitors. Raheen Law Group can also serve employers or employees in pursuing legal action due to a breached or broken employment agreement.

If you need help understanding, creating or enforcing any kind of employment agreement, contact us for a consultation.