Employment Contract Nightmares For All Employees by Bill Knell
Employment Contract Nightmares For All Employees
by Bill Knell
I would guess that most people who are handed an employment contract to sign, along with a pen to sign it (or more likely a shaded area on a screen), take a quick look, say “Looks OK to me” and approve it. Well, what you don't know can really hurt you.
Unread contracts contain unknown dangers. From a fast food worker to a corporate executive, everyone can easily get stung…bad! The problem is that a fast food worker probably hasn't been trained to properly examine and vet a contract. He or she also isn't likely to have a lawyer who can.
Having majored in Business Administration, I slugged through several Business Law courses whose prime focus was on contracts. Looking back, I'm glad I did because what I learned helped me to help myself and others.
Case in point; A friend of mine was a Chef in a Michelin Star restaurant about twenty years ago. He took the job because his father-in-law owned it and needed someone with his skills. You would think that any employment contract he received from ‘dad’ would be a ‘safe sign'. You would be wrong. When it came time to make my friend a permanent employee there, he was asked to sign a contract. That made my friend suspicious.
His father-in-law was a shrewd businessman, and that's not a compliment in his case. My friend brought the contract to me hoping I could shed some light on it before he signed. I told him I would read it carefully, then call him to pick it up. Most of the contract contained the usual legalise. Then I saw something shocking that was carefully hidden in a section about employee responsibilities. In plain language, it said that if my friend ever left his position at the restaurant and took another position, any position, the corporation (his ‘dsd’) could sue him for the yearly amount of his salary.
I could not believe what I was reading! It was one of the most ridiculous things I have ever seen in an employment contract. But I also knew that little gems like that one are found in employment contracts all the time. Those with higher paying jobs owe it to themselves to have any employment contract offered to them examined by a lawyer who has a good rep for finding flaws in contracts of any kind.
Those with lower paying jobs probably will not get hit with a situation like my friend faced, but there are low wage contract nightmares for them as well. Here are just a few to look for…
-Job security
-The possibility of skipped pay periods (to avoid paychecks from bouncing)
-Pay periods changed from one week to two weeks
-Inadequate benefits or loss of benefits based on being moved from the designation of a full time worker to part time
-Being assigned to useless heath care benefit providers that have no caregivers in your area: and being charged for those benefits
-A limited ability to negotiate for better wages, benefits and advancement
-Unclear, unfair or potentially illegal stipulations and conditions
-Misleading or vague language making important issues such as wage increases, sick days, paid or unpaid vacations and termination
Most employers offering low wage jobs depend on government benefits to pick up enough slack so that employees can be paid less and have fewer useable benefits.
No matter where you are on the pay scale, the number one thing to do is make sure your employment contract presents your personal information correctly; especially when it comes to names, addresses, emails and social security numbers.
Ig you provide a false name or address (including emails), by error or on purpose, the employer can instantly dismiss you claiming you were notified in advance of a problem or outright dismissal by mail or email in advance.
Using a false social security number by mistake or on purpose can get you dismissed, even if it was an honest mistake. It all depends on company or corporate regulations. Using someone else's SS number can get you in legal trouble with the feds who might either give you jail time or a substantial fine you'll have to pay before you can work again.
Kailey Fields offers readers fresh and very human fiction stories that are unique, yet relatable.
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