How do you feel when receiving a notification that you are accepted into your dream company after a long job search process? There is no doubt that you must be excited as you cannot wait to sign the employment contract.
Despite being the most important document that arranges an employment agreement, only few people are actually committed to read a job contract carefully. Some people simply believe that the content is exactly what they have understood and expected in their mind. Some others might try to read the contract, but it has so many points with complex sentences and unfamiliar terms that they do not really understand. Meanwhile, even some people do not get how the contract will affect their employment status in the organisation. Those are most common reasons why employees end up signing their job contract without reading the whole documents.
However, reading the employment contract before sealing the deal is vital. It is important to check whether the points written on it have been in accordance with the existing circumstance, or you still need to negotiate some of them. If needed, asking the meaning of unfamiliar terms in the contract is also important to make sure that you fully understand each point stated in the employment contract. Here are some points to check before signing an employment contract for a new job:
- Job title and description
You might believe that you have understood about the job you apply and are ready to take the job responsibility. However, you should recheck in the contract whether the job title, department, and job scope are the same as what you expected or not. You can read those information in the point of job title and description. If there is miscommunication with the employer and you ignore this point, there are chances that you will have to deal with different tasks outside your expertise.
- Compensation and benefits
Salary and bonuses could be one of the most important considerations when people pick a job. While you have negotiated this with the hiring managers in the interview and certain amount has been agreed, you need to check it on the contract nevertheless. Additionally, you should not forget to read other benefits such as medical, travel reimbursements and bonuses.
- Working schedule
Knowing that you must work from Sunday to Thursday is not enough. You should make sure how many hours you have to work in a day, including the allocated time for lunch or breaks. During a busy period, you might be required to work overtime so you should know learn about the arrangement, including how you will be paid for overtime hours and how to deal with the overtime task.
- Start date
Knowing when you should start your first day at the new job is crucial, as it deals with when you should turn in a resignation letter for your previous employer. Besides, you need to prepare your first day in the new company. There is always a possibility of human error so you should ensure that the start-date written in the contract is the one you have negotiated with the hiring manager in the previous meeting. It is also important to know when the contract ends so you can set the next plan if you want to move on.
- Sick days and paid leave policy
Checking how many paid-leaves you can take in a year is important so you can plan how you will use them. As a new employee, you also need to know when you are allowed to take vacation days. Do not forget to check how you can propose annual leave, emergency leave, and sick leave.
- Termination terms and conditions
When you know what kind of behaviors might lead to termination of employment, you will know how to avoid making those mistakes. You also need to find out the point about the procedures of resignation, in case if there is a condition that makes you want to leave the company before the contract ends.
