Hi Jane,
I was very happy in my previous job as the work environment was favorable and the people working with me were pleasant. I worked for that company for close to 4 years but I did not see myself developing in that time span. In regard to this, I decided to leave the job and look for a better one in my own field. After appearing for a number of interviews, I finally found a company who was willing to hire me and pay significantly more than the rest of the companies. Not only this, but my post was a much higher one than my previous job. I was ecstatic. Before ending the interview, my interviewer told me that I will receive the mail of all the official documents the next day.
The following morning, I went through the documents sent to me. They were mainly work manuals, workplace rules, job description, but it also had a commitment contract. According to this, I had to sign this three-year contract to attain the job. They claimed that this was to keep me dedicated to my work duty. In my professional life span, I have always worked for long time duration. Therefore, committing to a certain company isn’t a problem. If I sign this contract, I’m committing three years of my life to them. But there is no clause in this contract saying that they won’t fire me owing to the contract. Does this mean that if I leave the job, it will be a breach of contract but they are free to fire me whenever they want? I’m perplexed. Please help me out.
Work Commitment
Go through all the clauses before signing any legal contract.
Answer: Work Commitment a Two-Way Process
Before I advise anything to you, you subconsciously are aware of what is right and what is wrong. You just want someone to point it out so that you can be sure about it. Firstly, it is a common practice in big-scale companies to put forward a contract when a new employee is joining. Especially if the job position is an important one, this contract becomes essential. This is because the company puts in effort to train a new employee so that he works according to their expectations. At times, it happens that an employee leaves within the span of a few months. The company then has to train someone new all over again. This becomes a tedious process and it also affects the work productivity.
But companies don’t usually specify the fact if they are allowed to annul your employment without prior notice. The only way to clarify your doubts is that you should discuss this contract with the HR of the company. Ask them that if you agree to commit to the company, will they do the same? Put forward your point that you are ready to work with full dedication for the company but you expect the same loyalty in return. Even if they have to fire you, request them to specify the notice period you’ll be given to look for another job. I’m sure the HR of the company will put your doubts to rest. By clarifying this, you will be at peace and will look forward to join the company.
If they don’t give any such assurance in return, then you would not like to work in a company which does not value your efficiency. Your decision depends on the answer you get from the company.