Take home your employment contract
Anyone who is finally offered an employment contract after a long search is tempted to sign it immediately. Depending on the type of employment, however, it may be wiser to take it home and check it out in peace. But you shouldn't risk your new job.
Check the employment contract on site
Lawyers advise to always check every contract before signing it. This also applies to employment contracts, but in practice job seekers often have to make a quick decision. There is seldom time to take the contract home to review. This is also often unnecessary.
- As a rule, the employment contract states exactly what was previously in the job interview was discussed. Legal pitfalls are hardly to be expected in employment contracts.
- If the employment relationship is open-ended, no written employment contract is required. The contract is concluded in conversation as soon as you agree on the conditions with the employer. The written contract merely records the agreements and serves as evidence in the event of disputes.
- But read it carefully. Ask the employer if you don't understand something. A wording can be changed under certain circumstances if something is unclear. You don't necessarily have to take the contract home to review.
Problems if you take the unsigned contract home with youÂ
Nobody is forcing you to employment contract to sign on the spot. That doesn't mean that you can always take it home with you. The situation is a little more complicated.
It shouldn't happen, but it happens that when you sort out old ...
- Suppose you come to an agreement during the interview on all conditions for starting work. The employer tells you you can start working the next day. You have concluded an employment contract as soon as you agree to it.
- Usually the employer does not say that you will get the job, but that you can sign an employment contract. He makes you a contract offer that he can withdraw at any time. You are now in a quandary because the commitment is only binding once you have accepted it and signed it.
- A reputable employer will not mind if you read the contract carefully before signing it. You can usually take the contract with you to check it at home. But the employer is no longer bound by the offer. In other words, he can offer the job to another applicant. Remember, he wants to fill the position and doesn't know whether you will accept it. He will likely give it to another applicant.
- You can prevent this by asking the employer to give you a deadline. If he accepts, he is still bound by the offer. The question of whether you can take the contract home with you is not enough. You must explicitly ask for a deadline. If you sign the contract within the agreed period, you have the Workplace.
The employer is not obliged to give you the contract to take home with you, nor does he have to accept a deadline. It is entirely up to him to decide whether he will allow you time to review the contract.
Consider the consequences of your behavior
As you risk not getting the job by asking you to take the contract home with you, you should think carefully in advance how you want to behave.
- In large corporations you have little room for maneuver for many jobs. The companies offer a large number of similar jobs on the same terms. You can only decide whether you want the job or not. A comprehensive review of the contract is not customary. You will hardly get the job if you first check the contract at home.
- In the case of smaller companies, you usually negotiate individual contracts. It is quite common for a written contract to be concluded only during the probationary period. In these companies, it is seldom resentful if you ask to take the contract home with you so that you can read it through in peace. You can dare to ask to sign the contract the next day. However, please expressly ask that the company allow you this period.
- The higher the position, the more individual the contract design. In senior management, an employment contract can have well over 50 pages. It is common not only to take such contracts home with you, but to have them checked by a lawyer. You should never sign long and complicated employment contracts without careful scrutiny. Agree on a reasonable deadline by which you have to sign the contract.
Try to put yourself in the employer's shoes. Anyone who offers a large number of similar jobs is looking for employees who can fit in. If, on the other hand, initiative and leadership skills are required, the boss expects a critical employee. In the latter case, your question is often even seen as positive.
