OK to accept a job with just an offer letter and no contract?

[justanotherperson]

Hi guys!

Is it acceptable to take a job only with an offer letter instead of a contract? I am switching to a job I am excited about in a location I am excited about, but when I asked the employer for a contract they said they don't have one but that they would send me an offer letter to sign.

Is this normal or is this a red flag? As background, everything with this employer has seemed legitimate without any obvious red flags up until now.

 

Thanks very much for your input!

[sas5814]

Its pretty common and employment contracts aren't all they are cracked up to be. If your employer wants to break it they will just say its a description of your employment and not a contract.

Just make sure everything is written down in your offer letter. Everything. If it isn't written down it doesn't exist. Pay, hours, OT, call, insurance, retirement, CME etc etc.

 

[justanotherperson]

Thank you so much! That's incredibly helpful! 

 

I'm relieved to hear that this isn't a red flag. I'll be sure to make sure everything is spelled out in the offer letter. It sounds like it should contain what I would look for in a contract (malpractice, compensation, retirement, etc) from what you're saying. That's really good to know.

 

 

Thanks again!

[ventana]

Get everything spelled out in it. 
 

pay. What happens if you work more

vacation

sick

personal

how many holidays?  (Lots of places going to 6 holidays ribbing you if a week off)

cme 

 

bonus  structure   Before hire is the only time you have any negation power

Telephone  reimbursement   Everyone now needs one for computer access   Show up with a nasty old flip phone as your phone   If they want you to use a phone for work they need to provide it 

mileage if they make you work somewhere else 

Mandatory annual review and raises- you will likely never get one if you don’t mandate it 

CME funds (and that licensing does not come out of these funds)

and so much more  

 

[Patho]

My first PA job was like this, offer letter with benefits but no contract. I got burned in a couple of places like promised annual raises for 5 yrs but only was given 3 yrs of it, PTO was actually lowered than expected bc they calculated hours using an 8 hr work day but I worked 12 hrs day. 

Just be careful and like others said above, have them spell out everything word by word of what they told you even if its not a contract, having an email or a letter that you can refer back to is key. Then theres no he said she said bull crap. 

I'm negotiating right now and am forcing them to spell out every last bit of information no matter how annoying it is for them.

[justanotherperson]

Thank you so much! These posts are incredibly helpful! You have definitely brought up a few pieces that I would not have thought to have them include, so I'll definitely be sure to address that. There's so much to keep track of at this stage along with all the credentialing, haha. 

 

I'm moving across the country for this job, so I want to be sure that everything is smooth, so all of this feedback is so very appreciated 

[ventana]

Ugh.  Xc move. 
insist on a full contract.  Period.  No contract no job. 
they know that if they get you to move they win and you loose all power to renegotiate.   Do it up front.  

[Ty2PA]

3 hours ago, ventana said:

No contract no job.

I must disagree. According to a highly reliable 2 minute Google search, unsurprising, most jobs in the country do not use employment contacts. Yes, that changes as salaries increase, but most people in my social circle making six figures do so without an employment contract, in and out of healthcare, and I have never seen job satisfaction at all related to having an employment contact vs offer letter. If it is a smaller or even midsized employer and it is not standard practice for them to use a contract, you just made yourself harder to hire by demanding they hire an HR attorney to craft a template for them. Which, by the way, will most certainly heavily favor the employer anyway. 

The uniform advice to have a solid understanding of expectations and remuneration in writing from every respondent above is absolutely golden, but I would consider it highly unlikely for you to experience any worse outcome without a contact. 

In nuce: you may be terribly unhappy with your new job. Or blissfully at peace working there. The employer may be the best you've ever had, or the biggest sheister ever. A contract (vs a detailed letter) won't make a sheister employer into a tolerable one. It won't make a crappy job better. It won't make you like a job that you'd otherwise hate. It's not even likely to hold them any more accountable then a clear letter (liars gonna lie, cheaters gonna cheat, whether they use contacts or letters to do it). Be detailed and thorough - but don't sweat a contact if the offer letter is solid. 

[jmj11]

I will give both sides to this. If there is a point, it is the integrity of the employer that matters most. I took a job that looked great on paper, was in a great location and etc. However, I had an intuition that something wasn't quite right. I had a contract, however, before I signed it, I added many more words to protect me. They signed it, I think without even reading the parts I put in. To make a long story short, I had to take this employer to court and my lawyer said my addition to the contract made all the difference, forcing them to settle. That's the first and last time I've ever been involved with a lawsuit. But from there, I went to Mayo Clinic. Mayo does not contract with anyone (at least in the 1990s) from a PA to their top surgeon. Mayo treated me far better than I deserved and it was the greatest job of my career, just in the wrong locagtion.