Employment contract
Also called: contract of employment
What an employment contract covers
The non-negotiable sections in most European jurisdictions:
- Parties: legal employer entity and employee.
- Role and place of work: title, location, remote arrangement.
- Working time: weekly hours, overtime rules.
- Compensation: base, variable, when paid.
- Holiday entitlement: statutory minimum plus any extras.
- Notice: each side’s termination notice.
- Probation: length and notice during probation.
- Governing law: which jurisdiction the contract sits under.
How it differs from the offer letter
The offer letter is the high-level “yes, here are the terms.” The employment contract is the legally binding document. In some EU countries (France’s “promesse d’embauche”), the offer letter has the legal weight of a contract — confirm with local counsel.
Why SMBs trip on this
Three common mistakes:
- Using a contract template from a different country without local-law review.
- Missing the probation clause and the notice that applies during it.
- Forgetting to specify the place of work for remote employees, which affects tax and social security.
A 30-minute review with local counsel per template saves the legal cost of fixing it later.
Where Join fits
Join hands off to the contract tool (DocuSign, etc.) with the candidate’s data pre-filled, so the contract goes out the same day the offer is accepted. See the features page.
