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EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT FOR STARTUPS
The Employment Agreement for Startups regulates the employment relationship between a
startup and its employees, especially in an international environment, with employees from
different countries. The agreement is especially suitable for the full time employment of junior
or mid-level employees. The clauses of the contract regulate the main matters of this type of
contract such as: job title, salary and employment conditions, place of work, holidays,
confidentiality and non-competition (or non-compete clauses), applicable law and competent
jurisdiction. Since, this Employment Agreement for Startups is not sector or industry specific,
additional clauses may be relevant to meet the needs of particular sector (for example, IP
matters for the technology sector).
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT FOR STARTUPS
DATE: ...................................................................................................................................
BETWEEN:
................................. [company legal name] whose registered office is at .....................................
[address, city and country] and registration/fiscal number is .............................., represented by
............................................................. [surname and first name, position] (hereinafter, referred
to as “the Company”),
AND:
Mr./Ms. …………….., of legal age, Tax Identification Number………….., registered address ……………
, acting on his/her own behalf (hereafter, “the Employee”).
Both parties acknowledge each other’s right and ability to undertake the terms of the present
Agreement.
This is the Employment Agreement between the Parties. It contains the terms of the employee’s
employment as required by ………………………… [insert country/Jurisdiction)’s employment laws (1).
1. COMMENCEMENT OF EMPLOYMENT
1.1
Your employer is …………………………………[insert name of company]
(hereinafter, Employer, Company or we).
1.2
Your employment with the Company commences on…………………….
[insert date/month/year]
.
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1.3 Probationary period (2).
The first …………………….. [insert period of time, e. g.: one
month, three months, etc.] of your employment shall be a probationary period and your
employment may be terminated during this period at any time on ………… [insert number, usually
2] week(s)’ prior written notice.
1.4 We may at our discretion extend this period for up to a further …………[insert
number] month(s).
1.5 During this probationary period your performance and suitability for continued
employment will be monitored. At the end of the probationary period, we will inform you in writing
whether you have successfully completed your probation period and matters for moving forward.
2. JOB TITLE (3)
2.1 You are employed as full-time ………………………… [insert job title] and report to
…………………………. [title name of the person within the Company]. Your duties are set out in the
attached job description (4)
at Annex 1 to this Agreement.
2.2 You may be required to undertake other duties from time to time as we may reasonably
require and where such duties fit in your skills as required and approved (5).
2.3 You warrant that you have the requisite social status to work and are entitled to work in
………..…. [name of the country] without any additional approvals and will notify the Company
immediately if you cease to be so entitled at any time during your employment with the Company
(6).
2.4
You shall not take on any work for anyone or anywhere else while you are employed by the
Company (7).
2.5
In performing your tasks and duties under this agreement, you shall always observe the
interests of the Company and perform your duties assigned to you by the Company with diligence
and good faith.
2.6
You shall devote all of your working time to the business of the Company (and where applicable
its affiliated companies) and shall use your best endeavours where possible to promote and
develop the interests of the Company.
2.7 You warrant to the Company that by entering into this agreement or performing your
obligations you will not be in breach of any court order or any express or implied terms of any
contract or obligations which prohibit you from performance.
3. PLACE OF WORK
3.1 Your normal place of work is ………………………………. [insert location] in
………………….… [insert country]
3.2 You may be required to work at another location as directed by the Employer from
time to time (8).
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4. SALARY (9)
4.1 Your salary will be ………………………. [insert amount and currency] per year which shall accrue
from day to day at a rate of [1/365] (10)
of your annual salary and be payable monthly in arrears
on or about the last day of each month directly into your bank account.
4.2
We shall be entitled to deduct from your salary or other payments due to you any money
which you may owe to the Company at any
time
(11).
4.3
Where you have incurred reasonable expenses during the course of performing your tasks
and duties under your employment, the Company shall reimburse you all reasonable expenses
subject to your production of receipts or such other appropriate evidence as the Company
requires.
5. WORKING SALARY AND PROCEDURES (12)
5.1 Your normal hours of work will be between ……….. [insert hours and days,
e.g.: 09.00 to 18.00 from
Monday to Friday], inclusive, with a ……….[one-hour] unpaid lunch break each working day.
The weekly working hours are …………… [insert number, usually 40] hours. You may be
required to work such additional hours as may be necessary [without extra remuneration
OR with additional pay on a pro rata hourly basis].
5.2
You are required at all times to comply with our rules, policies and procedures which are in force
from time to time. If you have any questions about this, you should
contact…………………………........[title/name of person within the Company).
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This is a sample of Employment Agreement for Startups.
To get more information about this contract click here:
EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT FOR STARTUPS
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Contracts drafted by the legal experts of Global Negotiator cover all relevant aspects that are
negotiated and agreed in the different types of business between companies. However, when
these contracts are used you should take into account some recommendations common to all
of them that are described in this User Guide.
DATE
The date when the contract comes into force is the one that appears in its header, as mentioned
in the final paragraphs of the contract, before signatures (This Contract comes into force on the
date written above).
In some contracts -for example in the Supply Contract- the date of coming into force is also
mentioned in one of the clauses. In these cases, you have to verify that the two dates inserted
in the contract (in the heading and in the corresponding clause) are the same, in order to avoid
discrepancies.
PARTIES
Be sure to insert in the first page of the contract the full details of the Parties:
• When a Party is a company you must insert the following information: legal name, legal form
(limited, incorporated, etc.), full address, registration data and fiscal identification number.
• When a Party is an individual that works as independent professional (for example a
commercial agent) you must insert the following information: full name, profession, full
address and fiscal identification number.
CLAUSES
Clauses with different alternatives: choose the most favorable
In the most important clauses of each contract (exclusivity, payment terms, applicable law and
competent jurisdiction, etc.) several drafting alternatives are proposed so you can choose the
most appropriate to each situation. Therefore, the user before submitting the contract to the
other Party must choose the alternatives that seem best suited to their interests, and eliminate
the rest.
Clauses with blank spaces to be completed
In several clauses of the contract blank spaces appear with dots (.......................) that the user
has to complete inserting text. Following the dots, between brackets, you will see the data and
explanations to insert the text.
• When the text between brackets is in normal letters (the same as the contract) and
separated by "," or the word "o", the user must insert one of the options suggested.
USER GUIDE
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Example of blank space (........) with options to select between brackets:
Orders handled before completion of the present Contract which produce sales transactions
within .......... [1, 2, 3, 6] months shall entitle the Agent to receive the corresponding commission.
In this case the user must choose between options 1, 2, 3 or 6 months and insert one in the blank
space (........).
• When the text between brackets is in italics the user has to insert the data and information
requested and eliminate the bracketed text.
Example of blank space - (.........) to insert text:
Both parties, by mutual consent, resolve to refer any dispute to the Rules of Conciliation and
Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce by one or more arbitrators appointed in
accordance with said Rules. The place of arbitration shall be ........... [city and country]. In this
case the user must insert in the blank space (...........) the city and country chosen to conduct the
arbitration and afterwards eliminate the bracketed text [city and country].
Notices Clause
Sometimes it may happen that the official address of the Parties which appear at the beginning
of the contract is different from which is to be used for communications between the Parties
during the terms of the contract. In this case the user should include at the end of the contract
a Notices Clause.
Example of Notices Clause:
Notices. - In order to comply with their contractual obligations, the Parties establish the
following address for the provision of notices related to this contract:
- Party 1 ............................................................. [insert full address].
- Party 2 .............................................................. [insert full address].
ANNEXES
The contracts incorporate some Annexes, each of them, referenced to the corresponding Clause.
Annexes are drafted in commonly used formats, although the user must adapt these formats
and the text inserted in them to each particular situation.
SIGNATURES
People who sign
Persons signing the contract on behalf of the company must have the authority to do so and
preferably, be entitled on the basis of a power of attorney. Below the signature, in addition to
the full name of the person that signs his/her position must be inserted. When one of the Parties
who signs is a natural person (for example a commercial agent in an Agency Contract) obviously
he or she is the person that has to sign the contract.
The laws of some countries require that contracts, to be valid, shall be signed in front of
witnesses or a public notary. Therefore, before signing a contract you should be informed about
the requirements that may exist in each country.
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Place and date of signature
Usually, contracts are signed by both Parties on the same date and place. Nevertheless, in
international contracts, due to physical distance, it is common that each of the Parties sign in
different dates and places. This contract provides for both alternatives, so it comes to choosing
the most appropriate to each situation.
Number of copies
Usually, the Parties sign two copies of the contract, each Party retaining one of them, but can
also arise the need to sign more copies. In this case all you have to do is mention explicitly the
number of copies to be signed in the paragraph that is included at the end of the contract (Both
Parties declare their conformity to the present contract, which is signed in ...... copies, each of
which shall be considered an original).
GENERAL RECOMMENDATIONS
The Parties must sign all pages of the contract, including Annexes, so they are also valid. It is
better to use ball point or pen (not pencil) in a color other than black (e.g.: blue); this makes it
easier to distinguish an original document from a photocopy.
It is preferable (although no mandatory) to express sums of money and percentages in words
and figures. Of course, the words and figures for a given amount must match exactly. You also
must insert the currency in which the amounts are expressed. It is advisable to use the rules
establish by ISO that name each currency by three capital letters (EUR for euro, USD for dollar,
GBP for sterling pound, JPY for Japanese yen, etc. - you can get the acronyms of every currency
in the website www.oanda.com).
Once you have chosen the best alternatives of each clause and have completed the blank spaces
you should revise the whole contract to remove remaining paragraphs and correct any errors.
LEGAL WARNING
Depending upon your particular situation this contract might not meet your needs and
requirements. In case of doubt, you should consult a legal advisor.
Global Marketing Strategies, S.L. as publisher and copyright holder of this contract disclaims
all warranties, whether express or implied, respecting the legal content of this contract. For
any claims arising out or in connection with the use of this contract, Global Marketing
Strategies shall be limited to a refund of the purchase price.
