Remote Work Agreement

The clause number one that every employment contract should have is the detailed list of job duties. This clause helps to measure an employee’s performance in the future and evaluate their progress. Failure to perform job duties on a regular basis may result in an employment agreement being terminated.

A remote worker agreement allows an employee to perform their working duties from the place of their choice. This could be their home, favorite coffee shop, or any other place. At the same time, the contract may impose the following additional restrictions regarding the location for remote work.

Firstly, for the sake of confidentiality, the work in public places like shopping malls or airports may not be allowed. Secondly, the contract may prohibit performing caregiver duties for children or the elderly during working hours (e.g., to pick up a child from a nursery or to cook dinner).

If performance of job duties requires an employee to have special working equipment, a remote employment agreement sample should define:

• the list of equipment that should be provided;
• rules regarding the return of the equipment; and
• rules regarding the compensation in case of equipment loss.

A good remote employment agreement example shall include an extensive supervision clause. A supervision clause defines how an employee shall report about their work performance under the contract.

This clause should also lay out the full name and position of an authorized person within the employer’s organization to whom an employee shall report. Such reporting may have various forms, including check-in meetings, progress reports, participation in virtual sessions, etc.

Even if an employee works remotely, they have to follow a specific working schedule within the employer’s organization. Therefore, a remote employment agreement template should define:

• exact days and times when an employee shall work (e.g., Monday-Friday from 9 am to 6 pm);
• time zone (e.g., UTC, AST); and
• number of paid days of annual holidays.

Every sample remote work agreement should define the date of an employee’s first working day. This could be the same date on which the parties sign a remote employment contract between them. Or, it could be any other date agreed upon between the employee and the employer.

The remote working relationships may last for a fixed period of time or indefinitely. A fixed remote working contract may last from several months to several years.

If a remote employment agreement template is for a fixed period of time, the text of a contract should also define the last working day.

Either party may terminate employment relationships with or without cause, provided a prior written notice is given to the other party. The notice period could be 10, 15, or 30 days. Immediate termination of a remote worker agreement is possible at the employer’s discretion if an employee fails to pass a probation period.

A compensation under a hybrid work agreement template does not differ from a compensation paid for the same scope of work done at the office under a normal employment contract.

A remote employee’s compensation consists of the following elements:

• basic salary (annual, monthly, or weekly);
• additional bonuses (e.g., annual cash bonus, performance bonus);
• other benefits (e.g., family insurance).

A basic salary includes an employee’s mandatory compensation for the work done remotely. The federal law defines that an employee’s compensation for the work should not be less than the required minimum of USD 7.25.

The payment of additional bonuses and other benefits is a good business practice, though neither federal nor state law obliges employers to do so.