Once an employee enters a company and becomes a part of it, he must be responsible enough to do all the tasks and responsibilities involved in his position or job description.

While an employee should know the ins and outs of his job, he should also be a part of and know the terms and conditions of his employment.

He should discuss the agreed salary, tasks and responsibilities among other things during the interview with the Human Resource Department head. He can include how reimbursements are settled or paid when there are field works (whether it is abroad or locally). He can ask the employer also about the benefits once he is regularized.

The usual termination conditions for employees are employment disability, death, ineffectiveness or reluctance in performing duties, intentional acts that affect the company’s reputation and operations, conviction in any criminal act and breach of employment agreement.

If the company has a confidentiality clause, it means protecting the secret matters about the company’s operations and intellectual property from being leaked outside or to other same industry companies.

It is cited on the employment agreements. The employees shouldn’t divulge any confidential matters and affairs of the company once they resign or are terminated from their positions.

An employee should read the employee’s manual so that he will know policies and prevent from doing things that are illegal.

Termination

Terminating an employee should always have a valid or legal basis but there are some who experienced wrongful termination. And these situations are as follows:

• Retaliation

• Employment agreement violation

• Sexual harassment

• Anti-discrimination violation

• Breach of good faith

• Labor law violations

• Fair Labor Standards Act violation

Companies will be penalized for wrongful termination. They will pay for the damages to the employees affected.

Employment law also covers:

• Wages and benefits

• Family and medical leave

• Unemployment compensation

• Worker's compensation

• Pensions

• Intellectual property

• Safety in the workplace

• Drug testing and your rights

An example of employee agreement is from Reader’s Digest Association, Inc. Their 2005 Key Employee Long Term Incentive Plan offers employees of the company to performance-based stock incentives and other equity interests. It also offers employees rewards and retention.

Under the eligibility, the senior officers, senior management and key employees of the Reader’s Digest and its designated subsidiaries can be granted options and other awards under the said plan.

So basically, an agreement states all the rules, regulations, employees affected, etc. It’s like a handbook that one should follow which states what one shouldn’t do once he is working in the company.