Sign an employment contract online

What belongs in an employment contract

An employment contract sets the terms on which someone works for you: pay, hours, place of work, duties, holiday, notice and what happens to the work they create. It is often the longest document a new starter signs, and the one they read least closely.

In the UK, employers must give a written statement of the main terms on or before the first day of work, under section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. That statement has to cover, among other things, the start date, pay and how often it is paid, hours and days of work, holiday entitlement, sick pay, notice periods, probation and any training the employee must complete. Many employers fold all of that into the contract itself.

Clauses worth reading twice

These are the clauses that cause most disagreements later, from both sides of the desk.

• Notice period, and whether the employer can pay in lieu of notice or place the employee on garden leave.
• Probation: its length, the notice during it, and whether it can be extended.
• Restrictive covenants: non-compete, non-solicit and non-dealing clauses. Courts in England enforce them only as far as they are reasonable to protect a legitimate interest; California treats most non-competes as void.
• Intellectual property: confirmation that work made in the course of employment belongs to the employer, plus a waiver of moral rights where the law allows it.
• Overtime, bonus and commission: whether they are contractual or discretionary.
• Data protection notice, which explains how the employee's personal data is used.

Is an e-signature enough for an employment contract?

For an ordinary contract of employment, yes in the US, UK, EU and most common law countries. There is no rule that a contract of employment must be in ink, and in England it does not even have to be signed to exist. A signature simply proves agreement to the written terms.

The UAE is the notable exception in practice. Private sector employees on the mainland have their contract issued and accepted through the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE) system, and free zones run their own processes. A company can still use Sign PDF for an offer letter, a supplementary agreement or a policy acknowledgement, but it does not replace the MOHRE contract. Ask your PRO or a local lawyer which document governs.

This is general information, not legal advice. Directors' service agreements and contracts with large severance terms deserve a lawyer's review.

Signing order for employment contracts

A sensible order is employee first, then the employer countersigns. That way your director only signs once the candidate has accepted, and you never end up with a contract signed by the company and ignored by the candidate.

Set this in Sign PDF with 'one after another'. The employee gets the link first; when they finish, the HR director or company signatory is emailed automatically. Reminders can chase the employee every few days if they have not opened it.

Mistakes HR teams make

Sending a contract that contradicts the offer letter is the classic one, usually on salary, start date or notice. Another is attaching a staff handbook and saying it is 'incorporated' when parts of it are meant to be non-contractual policy that you can change later.

Finally, keep the signed copy where it can be found. Employment tribunals and courts ask for the signed version, sometimes years later, and an email thread with 'final_v3' attached is weak evidence next to a sealed PDF with a certificate of completion.

Sending the contract through Sign PDF

Upload the contract as Word or PDF. Sign PDF finds the blanks labelled 'Employee' and 'For and on behalf of the Company' and assigns them to the right person. Type 'employee initials every page' in the assistant if you want each page initialled, and it adds them.

The employee confirms a code sent to their email and signs on their phone. When both signatures are in, the completed PDF carries a certificate showing each signer's email, IP address, device and the time of each step, sealed so any later edit shows up in a PDF reader.