Employment Agreement Template

What is a employment agreement?

An employment agreement (or contract of employment) sets out the terms both employer and employee are bound by. An offer letter says "we'd like you to join"; the employment agreement says exactly what the job is, what it pays and how it works day to day, what happens to confidential information and the work the employee creates, and how either side can end it. Many countries require employers to give employees written terms, and a signed agreement is the clearest way to do it.

This template covers the start date and whether the job is permanent or fixed-term, an optional probation period, job title, duties and reporting line, place of work, working hours and overtime, pay and pay frequency, bonus or commission, benefits, expenses, holiday, sickness, policies and outside work, confidentiality (with the usual whistleblowing and pay-discussion protections), intellectual property, personal data, notice or at-will employment, an optional non-solicitation clause, and general terms. Wherever the law sets a minimum — holiday, notice, overtime — the agreement defers to it.

When to Use a employment agreement

• A small business hiring its first full-time employee
• Replacing an informal arrangement with written terms for existing staff
• Hiring on a fixed-term contract to cover a project or parental leave
• Following up an accepted offer letter with the full contract
• Standardising contracts across a growing team

What You Fill In

29 blanks, then the name and email of each person who signs: employer, employee.

What the employment agreement Covers

1. Start and length of employment
2. Job title and duties
3. Place of work
4. Working hours
5. Pay
6. Benefits
7. Expenses
8. Holidays and other leave
9. Sickness
10. Policies and conduct
11. Confidentiality
12. Intellectual property
13. Personal data
14. Ending employment
15. General

Using the employment agreement, step by step

1 Set out the job

Enter the job title, who the employee reports to, a short summary of duties, the start date and place of work. Add an end date only for a fixed-term contract, and an optional probation period with its notice.

2 Enter hours and pay

Describe normal working hours and choose how additional hours are handled. Enter the gross pay, whether it is per year, month, week or hour, and how often it is paid. Add any bonus or commission terms and benefits.

3 Leave and policies

Enter paid holiday — at least the legal minimum where the employee works — and how sick pay works. Name your handbook or policies if you have them; the agreement keeps them outside the contract so you can update them.

4 Decide how employment can end

Choose notice periods for each side, or at-will employment if the job is in a US state that allows it. Add an optional non-solicitation period, then the governing law — usually where the employee works — and send it for signature.

Tips Before You Send It

• Check local minimums before you fill in holiday, notice, probation and pay — the contract can give more than the law, never less.
• At-will employment is a US concept. Outside the US, choose notice periods.
• Send the agreement before the start date so the employee has time to read it and ask questions.
• Pair it with an employee confidentiality and invention assignment agreement for roles with access to sensitive information or product development.

Employment agreement: frequently asked questions

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This template is a general starting point, not legal advice. Laws differ between countries and states — have a lawyer review the agreement for your situation before you rely on it. Page last reviewed 2026-09-29.