ladyinred22 Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 Hi everyone, I'm a new grad and I just received an offer for a job at a large cardiology practice. They had their lawyer send me the contract and told me to have my attorney to look at it. Being that I don't have an attorney nor do I intend on getting one I was wondering if you guys could help me out. After a bit of a back and forth I was able to get a starting salary of 90k which I'm happy with. It's some of the other stuff that concerns me: 1.) There was a verbal agreement of q6 weekend coverage however there is no specific mention of this in the contract. Also, how many hours I work seems pretty open ended: "Employee shall render such professional services when and as scheduled by the Group, including weekend and evening duties at the sites of service of the Group." 2.) There is no mention of having paid holidays off so as far as I'm concerned they could have me work every holiday if they want. 3.) 2 weeks PTO (10 working days) and 1 week (5 work days) CME + but no mention of CME/licensing $$$. 4.) The contract is good for 4 years then will automatically renew every subsequent year: "The term of this Agreement shall be for four years from the date hereof and shall be automatically renewed for successive one-year terms unless termination of employment shall have earlier occurred as contemplated by Section 4 hereof. The term of employment, as may be extended or renewed, is hereinafter referred to collectively as the “Employment Period.” Does this mean I'd be making $90,000 every year for four years and then that same contract will automatically renew without renegotiation? Or is that pretty standard language? They do make mention of bonuses elsewhere in the contract, however. Also, they require 1 month notice before quitting which seems reasonable. I know I don't have much leverage as a new grad but my primary concern is the q6 weekend coverage not being specified in the contract especially since we discussed it previously. Everything else I could live with I suppose. What are your thoughts?? Should I ask for more PTO and CME/Licensing money? Is 4 years too long for a contract? Should I have them specify that I'll have at least some paid holidays? Thank you in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crossbone2007 Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 Just signed a contract as well. You need to make sure everything you are told are written in the contract or it didn't exist. Contract should mention expected shifts and hours per shift. If salaried, it might mention additional hours needed without extra payment but that should be rare occurrence. 2-3) contact should indicate paid time off. 10 weeks PTO is terribly low. Don't accept anything less than 3 weeks paid time off. CME should be at least 1500. 4) Don't sign a contract that is more than 1 yr. Period. You'll get no room to negotiate in the future. No raise for 4 yrs! Seriously? Don't sign this contract. Be ready to walk away. That contact was drafted by a lawyer for sure. Keep looking. As a new grad, I get close to $20000 more than they offer you with better benefits, no stellar but better. Just No. Sent from my Nexus 5X using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator ventana Posted May 5, 2017 Moderator Share Posted May 5, 2017 Hi everyone, I'm a new grad and I just received an offer for a job at a large cardiology practice. They had their lawyer send me the contract and told me to have my attorney to look at it. Being that I don't have an attorney nor do I intend on getting one I was wondering if you guys could help me out. After a bit of a back and forth I was able to get a starting salary of 90k which I'm happy with. It's some of the other stuff that concerns me: 1.) There was a verbal agreement of q6 weekend coverage however there is no specific mention of this in the contract. Also, how many hours I work seems pretty open ended: get it in writing - otherwise they will take advantage of you...... Esp call!! "Employee shall render such professional services when and as scheduled by the Group, including weekend and evening duties at the sites of service of the Group." 2.) There is no mention of having paid holidays off so as far as I'm concerned they could have me work every holiday if they want. get it in writing that you are to get paid time off at each national holiday, or some other compensation 3.) 2 weeks PTO (10 working days) and 1 week (5 work days) CME + but no mention of CME/licensing $$$. nope - 3 weeks min...... CME $2500/year (>$1500 is a must and licenses and DEA should NOT come out of this) 4.) The contract is good for 4 years then will automatically renew every subsequent year: NO NO NO NO one year with renewals "The term of this Agreement shall be for four years from the date hereof and shall be automatically renewed for successive one-year terms unless termination of employment shall have earlier occurred as contemplated by Section 4 hereof. The term of employment, as may be extended or renewed, is hereinafter referred to collectively as the “Employment Period.” Does this mean I'd be making $90,000 every year for four years and then that same contract will automatically renew without renegotiation? Or is that pretty standard language? They do make mention of bonuses elsewhere in the contract, however. Also, they require 1 month notice before quitting which seems reasonable. I know I don't have much leverage as a new grad but my primary concern is the q6 weekend coverage not being specified in the contract especially since we discussed it previously. Everything else I could live with I suppose. What are your thoughts?? Should I ask for more PTO and CME/Licensing money? Is 4 years too long for a contract? Should I have them specify that I'll have at least some paid holidays? Thank you in advance! See above..... read more on this forum on bennies that need to be in your contract be prepared to walk away Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyinred22 Posted May 5, 2017 Author Share Posted May 5, 2017 It felt like they were trying to rip me off a bit. Thank you, everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anewconvert Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 It felt like they were trying to rip me off a bit. Thank you, everyone. When it comes to a working environment collegiality is a great thing. When it comes to contract negotiations they are not out to be collegial. They are out to pay you as little as you will work for. Your job is to make them pay you as much as you can. They have a lawyer looking out for their interests... maybe a few hundred bucks to have someone do the same for you isn't a terrible idea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ladyinred22 Posted May 8, 2017 Author Share Posted May 8, 2017 So this morning I talked to the doc that wants to hire me and he seemed pretty receptive to my wishes and eager to make me happy. He said he can get in writing q6 weekend coverage, 3 weeks PTO and he mentioned they give CME/license fee reimbursement and he thought it was in the contract but if not he can put it in there. However, I didn't mention anything about shortening the contract length to 1 year mainly cause he called me and caught me off guard - plus I'm not exactly sure what to say. Ventana, you mentioned 1 year with renewal...is that different than automatic renewal? From doing a little research it seems with automatic renewals I won't have the opportunity to renegotiate (unless I in some form threaten to terminate my employment before contract renewal which can't be good for employer-employee relationship)...so do I need to ask for some type of clause where renewals are revisited and can be renegotiated based on performance? Sorry for all the nitty gritty questions - I'm just very new to all of this stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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