Employment contract after 5 years

[Mary22]

Our firm have all received employment contracts - i have been here 5 years and have never had a signed contract so firstly am I required to sign it?
I have a restraint clause (i am an intermediate accountant who has all work reviewed) which says i cant work for any competitor “where you may be able to make use of any part of the confidential information to the detriment of the employer”. For 12 months and a cascading clause to 3 months. This seems excessive for someone in my position.
Can I just not sign this or request it get taken out?

Thanks

 

[Paul Cott]

Hi Mary,

You can try to negotiate with your employer as to the terms of the contract but they may or may not be negotiable.

You can refuse to sign the written contract but contracts also provide to you some level of protection.

In the end, you may have no choice but to sign it but as I said, especially in regards to the restraint clause, which could possibly be struck down or amended if you took legal action, I'd try to negotiate the terms. Good luck.

Paul Cott.

 

[Rod]

Having to deal with a contract can take you out of your comfort zone that you've been in for 5 years. It looks like they have a new HR person/CEO who is tidying up the paperwork and this is not directly targeted at you. Read carefully, negotiate changes if you want changes, and sign when ready.

Do not worry too much about restraint of trade clauses as the law operates in this area most times regardless of what is written in the contract. For a mid level accountant as long as you don't use or are not in a position to use your current employer's confidential information against them, then you will not be in conflict.