Negotiate and draft an employment contract PDF

ASSIGNMENT TWO – CONTRACTS
You and your opponent are to negotiate and draft an employment contract. You can pick
your opponent. One of you must act for the employer and the other, of course, for the
employee.
The job is: paralegal for a five lawyer firm. You can invent a job description. The
negotiation points are below.
If your opponent refuses to settle, then draft an offer, including all of the terms you want,
when it was submitted, for how long it was open, and submit this. If your offer is
reasonable from the perspective of both sides, you will do well.
You might work together on the language of the contract before negotiating, and then fill
in the blanks as to who gets what later.
The assignment is worth 20 marks. 16 marks will be awarded for the structure and
enforceability of the contract (or last offer) and how well it addresses all of the potential
issues. 4 marks will be awarded for negotiation. If one side gets a great deal, and the
other side capitulates, the marks may be uneven. If the contract is reasonably fair to both,
you will both get a good mark. Don’t try to destroy your opponent – the best employment
contracts are those which last; i.e. those which are fair to both the employer and the
employee and which generate goodwill for many years.
Use clear language to describe the rights and responsibilities of both parties, so that a
court could later enforce the contract if there was a dispute. A vague or inconsistent
contract is effectively useless. It’s okay to use precedents, but avoid legalese. Plain
language that covers the issues is easier to read and will result in a better mark.
Imagine giving the document to a complete stranger – does it clearly describe the WHO?
WHAT? WHEN? WHERE? questions for each issue, without additional explanation? It
can help if you include background statements in the contract to aid the court’s
interpretation – the WHY? certain things are to be done (typically, a contract will begin
with various “Whereas” statements, setting out the background for the contract.)
You and your opponent are to each submit a copy of the contract and your explanation of
your individual negotiation and drafting strategy for your side, all as one document,
through Blackboard upload by April 9th. In your submission, please indicate the name of
your opponent and submit your contract or your last offer, along with your explanation of
your negotiation and drafting strategy.
Please do not use Apple Pages format. I can’t open these documents.
Negotiation points Employer Employee
Base pay starting point $50,000
Bargain increments of $5,000
Wants smaller
number
Wants larger
number
Bonus/Commission
Bonus could equal to percentage of
billings from the paralegal, or some
other method.
Wants smaller
number
Wants larger
number
Benefits
Pension? Insurance? Health benefits?
Wants none Wants all
Expenses
Who pays for Law Society membership
and education courses?
Wants employee
to pay
Wants
employer to
pay
Total work hours / week
starting point 35 hours
Bargain increments of 2 hours
Wants larger
number
Wants smaller
number
Flexibility of work
Bargain whether employee can choose
hours Or whether 9 – 5, business days
Does not want
flexible hours
Wants flexible
hours
Entertainment budget / year
Bargain increments of $500
Wants smaller
number
Wants larger
number
Office location
Private office? Home office? Remote work?
Wants option
where to work
Wants some
control
Vacation
2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks?
Wants smaller
number
Wants larger
number
Notice period if to be terminated
2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks?
Wants smaller
number
Wants larger
number
Non-solicitation clause Wants both and strict Wants neither
Confidentiality provisions Wants 5 year
non-competition
Wants no such
clause
Which clients can the paralegal take
if leave the firm
Wants to keep all
clients
Wants to keep
paralegal’s clients
Be creative – you can add other points!
Consider the who? what? when? where? why? questions when drafting. 2