• Choosing the right employment contract can begin a lasting and productive employment relationship. Each worker has a place in a business enterprise. The work an employee can contribute to the enterprise demands a certain type of relationship, with a duration and pay plan fit for the work.
  
  

Standard Employment

• The standard written and signed agreement establishes a permanent employment relationship between the employer and an employee. A business agrees to make the employee a part of the enterprise membership. An employee agrees to devote his work to the business. Typically, the agreed labor services are full time, though the employer and employee might agree to part time.
  
  With a known long-term duration, the employer can pay a regular salary or wage. These contracts are the best agreements for providing the health care and retirement benefits that rely on secure employment for financial feasibility.
  
  

Sales

• A sales contract secures a sales representative's services for a set duration chosen for the employee to perform sales duties. The sales representative has the role of doing sales work for the enterprise's products or services. The business pays a base pay that is secure. Sales representatives also agree to earn performance incentives; the sales commission is the gross amount of sales to new customers brought in by the representative plus sales to customer accounts assigned to the representative. The employer and employee can terminate the agreement at will, without cause.
  
  

Employment At Will

• In a written employment at-will contract, the employer and employee agree to continue employment for the time both have agreed. The employer does not make the employee a permanent part of the enterprise membership.
  
  Either party can terminate the employment for any reason, without cause. By signing the agreement, an employee waives any state rights to good cause for a termination. Health and retirement benefits typically are not included in the agreement; the uncertainty in duration makes financial planning difficult.
  
  

Independent Contractor

• An independent contractor agrees to a contract that bonds the contractor's enterprise to the business's enterprise. The contractor does not become a member of the enterprise. The bond remains secure for the period set in the contract for the contractor to complete a project for the enterprise. The contract can require a project completion rather than a time for completion. If the business and contractor do not renew, the relationship ends after the final project date. Business management holds the contractor to professional standards for work and reviews the work.
  
  

Temporary

• A temporary at-will contract secures employment for a finite time period, with an end date for terminating the relationship. The employer can extend the duration or renew the contract, but not count on a permanent employee. From hire until the end date, the employment remains at will.