Unfair contract

vector

I managed to get a "contract" from an employer.

Its in one of those fields where there are hundreds of people banging on the employers doo every day looking for a chance to break in to the field, so I of course want to sign

However its a terrible contract.

Its as a sole trader, not employee

I cannot sub-contract

They can get rid of me anytime, whereas I have to give them 1 months notice.

There are no guaranteed hours, its week to week

and most worringly it says I cannot work for anyone else without their prior written permission so as to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest


I want to sign, but that last one is terrible

I'm sure most people sign without reading into it, or would ignore it unless someone noticed, but I take my signature seriously.

advice? sign and pretend I didn't understand?

Max Power1

the highlighted bit would most likely be legally unenforceable.

Nody

Few things to note:

1) Sole trader - Be careful about taxes etc. as your pay will need to cover tax, PRSI etc. This will all eat up a lot of the money here

2) Work for someone else - Are we talking during employement or after? During is standard for most contracts but as a sole trader I could see it as relatively normal. I don't think you'll have any issues with that part unless you plan to work for a direct competitor.

After - Enforcable in the sense that you can't share their ideas etc. but not beyond it.

Bald? er, dash!

Don't know the industry/role you are going for, but the contract seems to be loaded for the "employer" in this instance... They appear to be having their cake and eating it too.

There is a Revenue Code of Practice for determining whether an individual is truly self-employed or if they are an employee (notwithstanding what the nature of the employment is called). It's worth a read if you're unsure. This has an impact on other employment rights also including redundancy, unfair dismissal, holidays etc etc etc

Depends on how badly you want to sign at the end of the day I guess...

PeakOutput

vector wrote: »

Its in one of those fields where there are hundreds of people banging on the employers doo every day looking for a chance to break in to the field, so I of course want to sign

the only way out of this is if you are offering something the hundreds of others cant or wont. otherwise if you dnt sign they will just go to the next on the list

if you are only breaking into the field i dont htink you can expect anything but the worst conditions until you prove your worth

billybigunz

Its in one of those fields where there are hundreds of people banging on the employers doo every day looking for a chance to break in to the field, so I of course want to sign

However its a terrible contract.

Its as a sole trader, not employee

I cannot sub-contract

They can get rid of me anytime, whereas I have to give them 1 months notice.

There are no guaranteed hours, its week to week

and most worringly it says I cannot work for anyone else without their prior written permission so as to avoid any appearance of a conflict of interest

Take it if you like and just ignore all those points. You have nothing to lose.

vector

I'm the OP

thanks for the input,

I now see that I need only seek their permission to work for other parties during the contract, I need not actually obtain their permission

LOL, two can play this pedantic word game!

Bazzy

I've had similar contracts with companies like this before depends on your line of work.

Industrial Espionage is a big think for some companies the industry I work in the information I had from one company could be very helpful to one of its competitors

Company needs to cover it's own ass too!

D.McC

The contract does seem to be loaded in the employer’s favour, but if you have to sign it to ensure the job, well it looks like you have only one choice.

The one thing I will say is all contracts have to be legally defensible. That is to say that no part of it can lead to a breach of law. In other words, the part concerning the zero working hours!:mad:

Which I believe is illegal after the Dunnes Stores staff went on strike to end that companies practice of offering zero hour employment.