Employee Agreements -
One of, if not the most, important asset of your new business are your employees. Without them you likely would not be able to be successful. And while you should “treat them right” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TKQcWEXSKU it is always important to protect your company. This means making sure they’ve signed a confidentiality agreement, they’ve agreed to assign all rights to the work they’re doing for you to the company (“work for hire” doctrine) and, to the extent appropriate, they’ve agreed to no-hire and non-compete obligations. You also need to be very clear that your employees are “employees at will”. That is there is no obligation to keep them on for any specified period of time. Your employees are the ambassadors for your company and it’s important that during the employment relationship and even after an employee has left you remain on good terms. The last thing you want is a disgruntled employee using social media to make his/her case on your employment relationship. Once of the best ways of doing this are to make sure that the terms of employment are clear from the beginning. That’s the function of a good employment agreement.
Next installment, Contracts – Executive Employment Agreements, and remember, ALWAYS CONSULT AN ATTORNEY FIRST.
