CONFIDENTIALITY, NON-COMPETE AND NON-DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT 1

[Zulu28]

Hi Guys,

Does any one have such requirements in yours agreement?

4. Finders fee: Consultant agrees that to pay a finders fee to broker if consultant (a) provides or attempts to provide directly and indirectly, any services to any client to which consultant has been introduce by way of resume, introduction by email, telephone or about which consultant has received information through broker or through any client for which consultant has performed services or to which consultant was introduced under this agreement; or (b) retain or attempts to retain directly or indirectly, for itself or for another party, the services of another one of the brokers subcontractor or employees to which the consultant has been introduced or has received information about through broker. Parties agree that the finder’s fee shall be paid immediately by the consultant upon commencement of the services and shall be 25% of annual compensation or shall be 20% of the billing rate for the services provided. This provision may be waived only one a case-by-case basis in writing by an officer of the broker, in its sole discretion, prior to consultant taking the action for which waiver is sought.

What do you think about it?

Sincerely
Zulu

 

[sleipnir214]

Some context for interpretation would be helpful.

Who's asking you to sign this? What is your relationship to that entity? ______________________________________________________________________
TANSTAAFL!

 

[chicagoAnalyst]

It sounds to me like (if you sign this agreement) you had better have tight control over what this broker does with your resume. Otherwise, one mass mailing (or email) of your resume to 4000 employers would mean that you couldn't work for any of them without paying this broker, even if the mass mailing or email from the broker was not the way you actually made contact and got the job.

At one of my previous employers, resumes sent to the company via US mail were stacked in piles several feet deep in the Recruiting department. The Recruiting department was totally overwhelmed. The only way to get a job there was through personal contact. It would be a bummer to get a job through a personal contact, only to have that broker claim that he had sent your resume in to the same company, and that you now owe him money.

chicagoAnalyst

 

[CharlieJax]

Humm... you kind of seem to be all over the map... You are asking about confidentiality, non-compete, and non-disclouser agreements which are signed between you and a company to say that you will not go to work for the competition taking your knowledge of what your company is doing.

The finder's fee which you talk about, is signed between you and a broker where the broker looks to place you in a postion and for this you (and usualy the company) pay a fee.

Personaly I have never used a broker, as there are so many recruiters out there that will place you in a postion at the expense of the company and not you.

With the text you supplied it would seem that you would owe money to this broker if they mentioned your name to a company and you got a job another way with that same company.

As with any legal papers I would show that to a lawyer before you sign it. The lawyer will cost you maybe 200 bucks, that paper could cost you thousands. CJ
- If chickens could fly would they egg ugly people?

 

[CajunCenturion]

The paragraph is totally outrageous.

For that broker to rake in 1/4 of your annual salary or 1/5 of your billing rate for any client to you secure just because the broker introduced you is unreasonable. When you consider that the definition of introduce includes email, they could "introduce you" to thousands thru a spam blast. You're going to a restaurant for lunch, and they casually introduce you to an acquaintance that happens to be at the same restaurant, means that person and/or his company is now governed by this paragraph.

Its one thing for a company to secure a finder's fee if they actively sell and/or market you, but this is so one-sided that IMHO borders on criminal. Good Luck
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As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[Zulu28]

(Continue)

Dear …..,

This contract has been drafted by a legal counsel to the company and many consultants and employees have signed this.
Best thing that you can do is call me and let me address your concerns specifically and then you may decide

This seems to have caused lot of concern for you.
I really wanted to explain the agreement in the right perspective when I asked to speak with you over phone.
It is not at all what you have presumed it to be.
I still want to clear your apprehensions and reiterate ------------'s intention is to work with you to find a contract position acceptable to you.

Q. Should I trust him?

 

[CajunCenturion]

So this is an employment agency.

I'm sure its a matter trust, but rather a matter of what is good business. It sounds to me like the headhunter is trying to gain the exclusive right to find you a job.

It is understandable that he is trying to protect himself, because other people has sought his services, found a contract, and then did not get his fee because the employer and employee claimed they found each other without the services of the headhunder. And so the headhunder gets nothing for his efforts.

IMHO, the question then becomes, does this paragraph provide adequate protection for the broker, or does it go too far and tie your hands in your abiliy to find a job yourself. The specific areas which concern me are the following: Bold is whiat I consider problem text, with italics my conern

Consultant agrees that to pay a finders fee to broker if consultant (a) provides or attempts to provide (What constitutes an attempt? If you submit a proposal directly, totally unrelated to this broker, which is denied, this headhunter - because he mentioned your name on the phone to the client - could argue its due the finders fee. You attempted to provide) directly and indirectly (What is meant by indirect?), any services to any client to which consultant has been introduce by way of resume, introduction by email, telephone or about which consultant has received information through broker or through any client for which consultant has performed services (And for this part - just what role did the broker play to earn the finder's fee) or to which consultant was introduced under this agreement; or (b) retain or attempts to retain directly or indirectly, for itself or for another party (Can't help or even try to help your friends, even indirectly) or services of another one of the brokers subcontractor or employees to which the consultant has been introduced or has received information about through broker.

I would trust that this headhunter is going to use any and all of the phrases from this, or any other paragraph in the agreement, to make as much money for his firm as he can. I don't have a problem with that, everyone is in busines to make money. And I don't have a problem with the headhunder trying to protect himself. My concern is that there are hooks in this paragraph that allow the headhunder to extract fees from you, for services that headhunter had nothing to do with. Good Luck
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As a circle of light increases so does the circumference of darkness around it. - Albert Einstein

 

[neillovell]

That letter seems VERY dodgy - "and many consultants and employees have signed this."

Have they indeed? Why is he telling you this? To convince you to sign. surely the convincing should be in the document itself, not a covering letter with it.

Steer clear. I hate recruitment agencies, they're only useful if you have a lot of experience, and if you have that you don't need them in my opinion!!!

 

[Craftor]

neillovell is right about the recruitment agents. I had a similar situation to Zulu28 - signed up at a new job and they wanted me to sign a contract that said if I left at ANY time during my first year (including the alleged probation period) and for ANY reason, I would be required to pay back the remaining portion of the fee that they paid to the recruitment agent. So - if I left after 2 months - I would have to pay back 10/12 of the amount that they paid!

What made it even worse was that the contract could have been interpreted that if I was fired/retrenched I would still have to pay them back!

Zulu28 ... steer clear ;-). Remember - at the end of the day a recruitment agent is out to make a living - not to specifically get you a good job. I know there are really dedicated agents out there and I really apologise if I have offended anyone but in my experience I have found that their first (and understandable) concern is the money.

Best of luck - hope you find a fantastic job without the agent!

Craftor