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Ask HN: Asking to sign an agreement claiming work I do after term of employment

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Re: Ask HN: Asking to sign an agreement claiming work I do after term of employment

#21

Post by JamesBarney »

One thing no one else is mentioned is that what is useful or relevant to the business is very ill defined. All future companies for the entirety of your career will take on some unknown risk related to what your previous employers considers relevant.

Companies hate ill defined risk. I run a consulting company and would never hire anyone who had ever signed a contract like this. It's too risky, if you did work for a client and some company I'd never heard of could possibly own that IP that could be company ending for me. If a client even just found out I hired someone who had signed a contract like that it could end a client relationship.

Do not sign this. This could be career crippling.

Re: Ask HN: Asking to sign an agreement claiming work I do after term of employment

#22

Post by JamesBarney »

robertcheng wrote: post #3
gms wrote: post #2

This is not common at all. What is common is to have such a clause apply to the period of employment but not after. Please feel comfortable telling your employer to remove it (many people don't know that every contract is negotiable).

Employer doesn't want to change it saying it's common and everyone signed it.

This clause is abusive unless they're writing you a seven figure check. And companied that are abusive in some ways tend to be abusive in other ways.

If you have any other option I would take the other option. If you have no other options I would redline it and send it back. But whatever you do do not sign that clause.

Re: Ask HN: Asking to sign an agreement claiming work I do after term of employment

#28

Post by steve_taylor »

robertcheng wrote: post #3
gms wrote: post #2

This is not common at all. What is common is to have such a clause apply to the period of employment but not after. Please feel comfortable telling your employer to remove it (many people don't know that every contract is negotiable).

Employer doesn't want to change it saying it's common and everyone signed it.

The employer hasn’t accepted your terms because you haven’t walked away from the deal. Cut off all communication and look elsewhere. If they want you enough to withdraw those nasty clauses, they’ll contact you.
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