In most states, employment is “at will,” meaning you can be fired at any time and for any reason – unless you have an employment contract. In that case, the terms of the contract can determine under what conditions you can be terminated as well as what severance, if any, you will be entitled to should your employment terminate. If you have never been offered an employment contract before, it can be a bit intimidating. Your first question will likely be “Am I allowed to negotiate my employment contract?” The short answer is “yes.” You would be wise, however, to enlist the assistance of an experienced Pennsylvania employment law attorney to help you to ensure that you end up with terms most favorable to you.

All too often a job seeker is offered a position with a company contingent upon acceptance of an employment contract drafted by the prospective employer. If the individual has been out of work for some time or has never been a party to an employment contract before, it is easy to see why he or she would agree without giving the contract much thought. Sooner or later, though, the one-sided terms of that employment contract tend to create a problem for the employee. It could be that the terms don’t provide for sick time or vacation time until the employee has been with the company for a ridiculously long time, or the problem could be found in the non-existent retirement plan, or, most likely, in the terms relating to termination of the employer-employee relationship. Regardless of the reason, sooner or later you will likely regret accepting an employment contract drafted by your employer unless you actively negotiate some of those terms yourself.

Negotiating an employment contract, however, is likely something you know nothing about. This is why you should spend the time and money to have an experienced employment law attorney review the proposed contract and offer advice on what terms need to be changed to ensure that they are favorable to you. Keep in mind that most employers expect a prospective employee to negotiate terms of an employment contract. An employer is not going to withdraw an offer of employment just because you try to negotiate terms in the contract—and if they do, you don’t want to work for an employer like that anyway. The relatively small amount of time and money that you spend now on professional advice during the negotiation process will very likely save you considerably more time and money down the road should a potential problem arise with your employment.

If you have been offered an employment contract, contact an experienced Pennsylvania employment law attorney as soon as possible to arrange for a review of the contract and to discuss any changes you should negotiate into the contract. Contact the employment law attorneys at Curley & Rothman, LLC by calling 610-834-8819 today