Contracts should include

Each party retains a copy of the contract that holds them to the terms of the agreement. If one party does not hold up its end, it is easy to go to court with the physical contract in hand to seek enforcement of the agreed-upon terms. Your contract should be specific in its terms. This includes everything from naming the correct parties involved to the rights and obligations of each side beholden to the contract.

Depending on the type of contract, this can include employment terms, inventory and supply terms, lease agreements, and more. Your terms should also be specific as to payment obligations for who is obligated to pay whom, for what amount, and at what intervals. You may even get into the specifics of what methods of payment are acceptable. Do you prefer a wire transfer, check, Bitcoin, or cash? Contracts can be complex. It is important that you fully understand the terms of a contract before signing anything.

You are advised to seek legal and professional advice first. Dealing with contracts is part of running a small business. You will have a number of business relationships involving some type of contractual commitment or obligation. You should be aware that the majority of contracts entered into will have goods and services tax GST implications. Contracts can be verbal spoken , written or a combination of both. Some types of contract such as those for buying or selling real estate or finance agreements must be in writing.

Verbal agreements rely on the good faith of all parties and can be difficult to prove. It is advisable where possible to make sure your business arrangements are in writing, to avoid problems when trying to prove a contract existed. Regardless of whether the contract is verbal or written, it must contain four essential elements to be legally binding. There is no specific format that a contract must follow. Generally it will include some terms, either expressed or implied, that will form the basis of the agreement.

These terms may outline contract conditions or contract warranties. Contract conditions are fundamental to the agreement. If the contract conditions are not met it is possible to terminate the contract and seek compensation or damages.

Contract warranties are less important terms and not fundamental to the agreement. You cannot terminate a contract if the warranties are not fulfilled, however, you may be able to seek compensation for any losses incurred.

When negotiating the contract terms make sure the conditions of the contract are clearly defined and agreed to by all parties. In almost all cases of creative work such as a logo you pay to have designed copyright will remain with the creator, regardless of whether they created it on your behalf. If you engage a contractor to produce material that attracts copyright protection make sure the contract includes assignment of these protections, so that you own all the rights to the materials you paid to have created.

A standard form contract is a pre-prepared contract where most of the terms are set in advance with little or no negotiation between the parties.

This person is your employee and works either full or part time hours. Fixed Term This is a contract for a specific length of time. It has a clear start and end date. There is a limit to how long you can keep someone on a fixed term contract before they automatically become permanent. Zero Hours There is much controversy around these contracts.

They might be best described as an agreement for one party to make themselves available for work from time to time and the other party to offer work if any is available from time to time. They seem to work best in industries impacted by significant seasonal fluctuations in demand. What goes into an employment contract? Jump to: 1. What is an employment contract? What should an employment contract include? When do I need to issue an employment contract? Video: Can I change an employment contract?

What is a written statement of particulars? Quiz: When do I need to issue a written statement of particulars? What are the different types of employment contract? Recommended reading. Login to add to your reading list. Salary Make sure it is clear whether the salary quoted is an annual, monthly or hourly salary. Hours of work This is an interesting one, you have to think very carefully about the nature of the work and what is required.

Benefits Any benefits that form part of the contract should be set out clearly, this includes both statutory benefits required by law and any enhancements you make to those benefits.

Disciplinary and grievance procedures You are required to advise your staff of the disciplinary and grievance procedures. Previous Slide Next Slide. Find out more. Watch the following video by advisers from the Acas helpline to find out more. As soon as the offer of employment is made. On the first day of employment.