Plain English Employee Secondment Agreements

An employee assignment contract is a legal document drawn up by an employer that allows an employee to work for another company for a specified period of time. In today’s business world, integration is key, but it can’t be shared between employees without an employee secondment contract. As you can imagine, these documents are often long, complicated and difficult to read if you have no legal background. This is because not only does one company need to protect itself, its intellectual property, and its company secrets, but two do. Both companies involved must adequately protect themselves from harm, while establishing the time frame in which the employee transfer will occur, how it will occur, what the compensation and benefits are, and what kind of return the original company receives. for such a transfer.

While each employee secondment contract is different, due in large part to the large amount of customization present in each, a few generalizations can be made. Often the first main part of the contract is the term under which the contract is valid. The term can vary from a few days to a few years, depending on the duration of the employment agreement between the two companies. The next section will clearly go over which employees are assigned, how those employees can be used, and in what capacity. This section is extremely important because it limits how much employees can make once in their new jobs and it also limits the amount of access they have when it comes to the intellectual property of startups. There may also be a section here that reviews what kinds of repairs the original company receives for loaning members of its workforce to the other company.

The next part of an employee release agreement resembles a typical employment contract, with sections dealing with financial compensation, medical benefits, workers’ compensation, and other employee-employer information. It should be clearly stated here who is responsible for paying things like workers’ compensation in the event that an employee is injured on the job, the temporary employer, or the permanent employer. The final part of that contract often deals with intellectual property rights, corporate secrets, and what kind of obligations employees have to their now-dueling employers. This section alone can be extended page after page of exact legal wording. However, it is important that the employee fully understands what their obligations are here, as a misunderstanding could lead to immediate termination.