Understand your employment contract before you sign it
An employment contract mixes the terms you negotiated, such as salary and title, with terms you may not notice: notice periods, restrictions after you leave, ownership of your work and how bonuses really vest. Upload the contract and the documents it points to, ask about each term in plain language, and open the cited excerpt to read the wording the answer relied on.
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Last updated October 2026
How to read an employment contract with Search+
- Upload the contract and what it incorporates
Employment contracts often refer to an offer letter, a handbook, a bonus plan or an equity agreement. Upload those files with the contract, up to 10 at a time, so answers can draw on the documents that actually set the terms.
- Note your situation in Workspace Context
Write a line such as "I am the employee; point out anything that limits where I can work next or reduces pay I have already earned." Search+ uses that instruction for every question in the workspace.
- Ask term by term and check each citation
Ask about pay, notice, restrictions and ownership of work one at a time. Each answer carries inline citations; open them to read the clause, with its section number when the document has one.
Questions people ask about an employment contract
How much notice do I have to give if I resign, and how much must the employer give me?
Is the bonus guaranteed, discretionary, or tied to targets, and do I lose it if I leave before the payout date?
Does the contract restrict working for a competitor or approaching clients after I leave, and for how long?
What does the contract say about working hours, overtime and where I am expected to work?
Which policies or handbooks does this contract incorporate, and can the employer change them?
Across the two offer packages in this workspace, which one has the longer notice period and the clearer bonus terms?
What reading an employment contract involves
Handbooks, bonus plans and equity documents are often incorporated by reference. A contract that says "as set out in the Company's policies" can only be understood with those policies in hand.
Non-compete, non-solicitation and confidentiality terms usually continue after employment ends. Their reach and enforceability vary a great deal by place.
Words like "discretionary" or "may" around a bonus or raise mean the employer is not committing to pay. Read the exact verbs in the cited text.
Many contracts assign to the employer what you create in the course of the job, and sometimes beyond it. The scope of that clause matters if you build things on your own time.
A signed contract may be a scanned PDF and a handbook a Word file. Search+ reads PDF and Word uploads, and OCR reads the text on scanned pages.
Each answer cites the excerpt it used and Search+ does not invent section numbers the contract does not have. AI answers can still miss things, so read the cited clause.
Typical sections of an employment contract and what to ask
| Contract section | What it usually covers | A question to ask Search+ |
|---|---|---|
| Position and duties | Title, reporting line, duties, place of work | Can the employer change my role or location without my agreement? |
| Compensation | Salary, bonus, commission, equity | Which parts of my pay are guaranteed? |
| Benefits | Health cover, leave, retirement plans | Where are the benefit details set out, and can they change? |
| Hours | Working time, overtime, flexibility | Is overtime paid, and at what rate does the contract state? |
| Probation | Trial period and shorter notice | How long is probation and what notice applies during it? |
| Termination | Notice, cause, garden leave, payment in lieu | What counts as cause for immediate termination? |
| Restrictive covenants | Non-compete, non-solicitation, confidentiality | How long do the restrictions last after I leave? |
| Intellectual property | Ownership of work product and inventions | Does the IP clause cover work I do outside working hours? |
What is an employment contract?
An employment contract is the agreement between an employer and an employee that sets out the job, pay, working conditions and the rules for ending the relationship, together with any obligations that continue afterwards.
Employment contract questions
Can Search+ review my employment contract?
Will it read the handbook the contract refers to?
Can it find restrictions that apply after I leave?
Can I compare two job offers?
What if the contract was sent as a scanned copy?
Are the answers always correct?
Sign with every clause understood
Start a workspace, upload the contract and its attachments, and ask about the terms that affect you.
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