Things to Take Note of When Reading Your Work Contract.

People normally say, that read and understand your work contract before you sign. They are not telling you to read what is expected of you, they are telling you to pay close attention to legal matters.

The reason companies design contracts is to protect themselves however as an individual, because you can’t write a contract your goal is to negotiate for a better deal out of that arrangement.

WORKING HOURS

Pretty simple and quite obvious however what you may not notice is how they put them. They might say you are expected to offer them, 48 hours a week and in your mind you are thinking “Its 8-6pm Monday – Friday when it’s probably an evening shift or 7 days a week, that are equally distributed within 7 days.

You have to question what does 48 hours a week really look like in terms of the schedule.

TERMS & CONDITIONS OF TERMINATION OF CONTRACT

In the event that either you or the organization, would like to terminate the contract, this could be, may be you would like to resign, or may be the organization would like to terminate your contract, look out for the reasons and the terms and conditions. Never allow the employer to have the liberty to terminate your contract without any compensation or valid reasons and make sure that your reasons are clear.

Also never allow the employer to use the contract to limit you from finding another job or working for any other company after your contractual agreement has been ended or terminated no matter the circumstances.

Make sure that you account for yourself or look out for yourself and your future. If the employer is not agreeing to your terms or if you can’t have a middle ground then you’d rather not have the job. Being enslaved to a job is not good therefore always leave room for you to be able to transition at will and at liberty.

CODE OF CONDUCT

Take note and carefully read through the Code of Conduct. Never work for any company that has no Policy or code of conduct. Any organization without a code of conduct is a hub of bullies.

You have to know the procedure of reporting when anything happens to you. I advise this from experience. Personally I have worked in an environment before where there was no code of conduct. I was young and I didnt know that such things matter I got bullied alot and there was no where to report to or no one to report to or even how to deal with the matter.

All I was told is, “You will get used to it, don’t mind it etc.”

RENUMERATIONS & BENEFITS

Depending on the role you are signing up for, I don’t care whether you are on entry level, never accept to work for an employer who doesn’t either give you Paid Leave, or at least 2 days off every week.

It doesn’t matter how passionate you are with your job or whatever dream you want to achieve, rest is important. You may love the work that you do but the mere fact that you are dealing with different kinds of people everyday sometimes they serve you different kinds of energy, you need a break.

There are no company activities that can ever reduce on toxicity in workplaces however, taking constant breaks within the year can help you reset and build momentum.

When it comes to Salary, they always say, don’t ask for too much but I recommend that you actually do. This is because, you are not going to be paid for experience or academic documents acquired. No one is paying you because you are so educated, they are paying you for the work done. So make sure you negotiate a great amount especially knowing that they will want to reduce it and also, what you see on that JD is not the only thing you are going to do.

When it comes to benefits, stop asking for trips to Dubai, and Maldives, You will enjoy the moment but it’s not something you can add to your CV as an achievements. Ask for support in academia or support in your personal projects.

Make sure you discuss having Medical Insurance, NSSF & Taxes. It is very demotivating for you to have worked for a company 3-5 years without a coin of savings or want to peruse bigger plans in life and you are restricted by the Government because you didn’t pay your Taxes.

Read your contract and ensure that your employer is paying your Taxes otherwise that alone can ruin your future and what would you rather deal with, being restricted by Government because you couldn’t pay your Taxes, or being patient until you find an employer who can pay your taxes?

It’s worse when you fall sick and it’s hard enough to convince your employer that you need seek leave, but also, you are too broke to afford medication. You will sleep in your bed and hate your job.

GROWTH PLAN

Every Company or organization must share with you their growth plans and policies. For people on entry level this may be optional especially considering the fact that you are just gaining experience.

Ask for a growth plan or strategy. It is possible to join a workplace and all they ever tell you is “This is for your personal growth!” but in actual sense, it is to get you to do more work without compensating you.

If there is a promotion or if you are to take a leadership role, it must be indicated clearly in your contract which position you hold.

CONCLUSION

Some people may try to make you feel bad because you are asking these questions but I want to let you know that the reason most companies hire young people today is because young people are not experienced enough to ask such questions, it’s because all these things are on budget while recruiting but if you don’t ask for them, someone is taking your benefits and you are too naive to ask.

You have to know that not everyone is really as honest as you to some HR or finance managers, that’s an opportunity for them to have a bonus. What would be your medical bill is now their end of Year Bonus.

Look out for your self always.

May God Bless you with a Job that is really deserving.