Employment Contract – Concept, types and elements


We explain what an employment contract is and the types of contracts that exist. Also, what is the labor contract law and its elements.

Work contract
The employment contract is a legal agreement between an employer and a worker.

What is an employment contract?

An employment contract is a legal document that formalizes an agreement between an employer (employer, store owner, organization manager, etc.) and a worker, detailing the terms in which the relationship will take place. working between them, that is, the terms under which the worker will render his services to the employer, under his direction, and will receive in exchange a salary or monetary compensation.

Said terms must always occur within the provisions of labor laws of the country or territory where the employment contract is signed. If this is not the case, a contract will not be considered valid in the face of justice and its fulfillment cannot be legally demanded, that is, it cannot be binding, or oblige those who subscribe to it.

Any employment contract contemplates a series of rights and obligations for both parties involved, which have the dual mission of guaranteeing that work is carried out in a preconceived and mutually accepted way, also complying with labor rights and the protections guaranteed by law for the worker.

Types of employment contract

Work contract
CCTs tend to have greater laxity on the part of employers.

Employment contracts, in principle, can be of two types:

  • Individual. Those that concern a single person, who agrees to provide subordinate individual work, in exchange for the payment of a pre-agreed salary.
  • Collectives. Also called Collective Labor Contracts (CCT), they are celebrated between a union of workers or a professional union, and one or more employers. By covering a more or less broad set of workers, these contracts tend to be more lax on the part of employers, since they benefit from mass hiring.

Law employment contract

The employment contract laws of the different countries are legal tools contemplated within the constitutional framework of the nation, in which the legal parameters that regulate the hiring of workers are established.

This is: the body of laws that determine how the contractual hiring of a worker should be carried out, to guarantee that both parties are supported by the law and that neither fundamental rights are violated. This type of legislation varies according to the country.

Elements of an employment contract

Work contract
The employment contract must have the identification of both parties.

All employment contracts must comply with the following elements:

  • Identification of the parties involved: employer and worker (s).
  • The starting date of the employment relationship, and the closing date in the case of a temporary employment relationship or its probable duration.
  • The fiscal domicile of the company, or the place where the company or the employer is legally established, since the legal framework behind the contract will be used as the legal framework that exists in this designated territory.
  • The amount of the salary and the supplements that it presents.
  • The duration and distribution of the ordinary working day.
  • The category or professional group in which the work to be performed is registered, as well as its description.
  • The duration of the vacation and the conditions in which it will be enjoyed.
  • The notice periods and the considerations on the interruption of the employment relationship.
  • Applicable collective agreement, if any, as well as the data for its identification.