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Employment agreement template

An employment agreement records the terms of a job once it has been offered and accepted: the role, pay, hours and benefits, and the rules that protect the business’s information and work. Fill in the details below and it is laid out as a PDF for the employer and the employee to sign.

This template is a general starting point, not legal advice. Laws differ between countries and states, so have it checked before signing anything important.

Fill in the details

Anything you leave empty becomes a blank line in the document, to fill in by hand or during signing.

Opens the signature request with this document and a signature box for each party already placed.

Preview

Employment Agreement

This Employment Agreement (the "Agreement") is made on __________ between __________, of __________ ("Employer"), and __________ ("Employee").

1. Position and Duties

Employer employs Employee as __________, starting on __________. Employee’s main duties are __________, together with other reasonable duties that fit the role. Employee will work at __________.

2. At-Will Employment

Employee’s employment is at will. Either Employee or Employer may end it at any time, with or without cause or advance notice, subject to applicable law. Nothing in this Agreement or in any policy promises employment for a fixed period. Employee is asked, but not required, to give at least two (2) weeks’ notice of resignation.

3. Pay and Hours

Employer will pay Employee __________, less the taxes and deductions that the law requires or that Employee authorizes. Employee’s normal working hours are __________. If Employee is eligible for overtime pay under the law, Employer will pay it as the law requires.

4. Benefits

Employee is eligible for the following benefits, under the terms of each plan or policy as they apply from time to time: __________.

5. Workplace Policies

Employee will follow Employer’s written workplace policies. If a policy conflicts with this Agreement, this Agreement applies.

6. Confidential Information

During and after employment, Employee will keep Employer’s confidential information confidential and use it only for Employer’s business. Confidential information includes customer lists, pricing, business plans, financial information and non-public product information, but not information that is public or that Employee lawfully knew before employment.

Nothing in this Agreement prevents Employee from discussing wages, hours or other working conditions, from reporting a possible violation of law to a government agency, or from making any other disclosure the law protects. Under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act, an individual is not liable for disclosing a trade secret in confidence to a government official or to an attorney solely to report or investigate a suspected violation of law, or in a court filing made under seal.

7. Work Product and Inventions

Work that Employee creates within the scope of employment belongs to Employer, and Employee assigns to Employer all rights in inventions and works that Employee creates in the course of employment.

This does not apply to an invention that Employee develops entirely on Employee’s own time, without using Employer’s equipment, supplies, facilities or confidential information, unless it relates to Employer’s business or results from work Employee performed for Employer. State laws, such as California Labor Code section 2870, protect this right.

8. Return of Property

When employment ends, Employee will return all of Employer’s property and confidential information, including devices, documents, keys and access credentials, and will not keep copies.

9. General

This Agreement is governed by __________. It is the entire agreement about Employee’s employment and replaces any earlier discussions on that subject, but it does not replace the plan documents for Employer’s benefits. It may only be changed in writing signed by both parties. If any part of it cannot be enforced, the rest stays in effect.

This Agreement may be signed in counterparts and with electronic signatures, each of which is treated as an original.

Employer

__________

Employee

__________

Before you use it

Employment law is set at federal, state and sometimes city level. This agreement follows the at-will rule used in almost every state — Montana is the main exception — and deliberately leaves out clauses that many states restrict, such as non-competes.

  • Decide whether the role is exempt or non-exempt from overtime before agreeing on pay. The job title does not decide it; the duties and salary level do.
  • Several states and cities require pay ranges in job postings. Keep the pay in this agreement consistent with what you advertised.
  • Some states also require a written notice of pay rate and payday at hiring, on the state’s own form.
  • If the employee will handle sensitive technology or key customer relationships, ask an employment lawyer which additional protections are lawful in your state.

Offer letter or employment agreement?

A job offer letter proposes the job and is accepted by signing it, and many small businesses stop there. An employment agreement adds rules about confidentiality and ownership of work. You can use both: the offer letter first, then the agreement on or before the first day.

Frequently asked questions

Yes. Employment agreements are commonly signed electronically in the United States. Government forms such as Form W-4 and Form I-9 have their own rules and are completed separately.

No. Non-competes are banned or tightly limited in a growing number of states, including California, Minnesota, North Dakota and Oklahoma, and using one without legal advice is risky. The confidentiality section protects business information in every state.

Either side can end the employment at any time, without a fixed notice period. It never allows firing someone for a discriminatory or retaliatory reason, which remains illegal.

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