Verbal Agreement vs. Written Work Agreement – why the details matter

You’ve hired a household employee and now it is time to hammer out the details about the work arrangement. You can talk about the details first, but it is important to let that just be the beginning of it. Everything that you have discussed should be solidified in a written work agreement. This makes things simpler in the event that any question or confusion arises later down the road during your employee’s time working for you. Here are some tips on why the details in a written work agreement are important to have.

#1: It allows for protection.

We understand that being a part of a family means protecting it. When you hire a household employee to work directly with you, you will need to clearly outline what the rules are so protection can be in place. This goes for anything that could be confidential, including social media posts! In your written work agreement, be sure to discuss confidentiality provisions in detail, so your employee knows what things you want to be kept private and so there is no room for confusion.

#2: It allows you to spell out benefits.

Paid holidays, sick day leave, PTO, vacation time, and reimbursement of health insurance: all these things need to be spelled out clearly for your employee, as to avoid any issues when it comes time for them to request time off. This is also your opportunity to discuss hourly rate/weekly wages, in addition to health care benefits, should you choose to offer these things.

#3: It allows for clauses.

Termination clauses or requirements on how your employee provides notice to you, if they choose to quit, is important to document in a work agreement. This will protect you from being left in a lurch in the event that you need to terminate the working relationship or if the employee needs to quit. Equally important to your household employee is the notice requirements you agree to provide to the employee should you chose to terminate the relationship. In fairness you should agree to provide notice equal to the notice you ask your employee for, or pay in lieu of that notice. So if you ask your employee for 4 weeks advance notice of termination, you should provide the same.

You may also include items such as a confidentiality agreement, return of family property and an inclement weather policy to name a few additional clauses.

Not sure where to begin when it comes to writing a work agreement? Our team at HomeWork Solutions is ready to help. We even have a downloadable work agreement template that you can use to get started. The right work agreement will help make things run smoothly, so contact us for any questions you have!