santamynana

We sort of have what you have right there, but nothing what needs signing, they just agree to it and then we go.

When the site goes up then we'll get all the proper contracts and stuff like drawn up together.

I personally wont be giving my staff contracts that they have to sign... that may make them feel uncomfortable.

Instead, simple agreements that they don't have to sign seems more appropriate. Especially for moderators and other non-paid staff.

I understand that about your staff being comfortable and the need for simple agreements but what about when they break those simple agreements, you have no backup (contracts and such and such) just because you chose to give them more comfort than a contract that could potentially save your site.

@Joy

I wont force volunteer's to sign contracts; that seems rather... ridiculous.

However, with employee's... paid artists, programmers, ect. Yeah I may.

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If there is money involved, I think contracts are a must. Pet sites need to be looked at as businesses, because that is what they are. Thus, contracts for employees really need to be implemented.

@vplspride makes a really good point. Should a site have contracts and an employee is under the age of 18, their parents need to co sign, yes?

@vplspride I am aware of that yes and yes I would need a "Guardian" over 18 to co-sign but I don't come from the US and many of my staff are all over the commonwealth and ye world.

Over here I can enter certain legally binding contracts that abide by laws like I can not physically go and get a contracted phone but I can still have one.

@Joy Yes I agree with you there. I wouldn't force volunteer staff into signing unless I felt absolutely neccisary for the safety of the site.

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There was something on youtube about a guy signing a contract for a video making company but wanting to get out. He wasn't enjoying what he did there and got a better offer elsewhere. But under contract he is stuck with the company, they basically owned him. They then restricted how many videos he was going to make and it reduced his income. They don't want him going to a competing company. He said making videos is what he does best but is limited and struggling because of the contract. So yeah, read carefully. Contracts need to be read more than once lol.

I would definitely want a contract for people I'm going to be paying, and maybe not moderators but anyone with a position over that. I've noticed a lot that petsite people tend to be super flaky and I wouldn't want to be counting on someone only for them to fail. When I was managing the development of a site before, everyone we were counting on failed us over and over again and the project just died. I wouldn't ever want to go through that again.

It all depends on the situation for me. If I plan on employing someone for a period of time or for over $100, I require a contract. If I hire another programmer, I require an NDA. Moderators and volunteer positions are not required to sign a contract. I'm VERY careful with who I pick as staff, and it hasn't been an issue so far Considering I've been doing this since 2003, I think that I'm doing pretty well!

I have a couple people who work on my sites strictly commission-based. They have contracts as well. If they don't do their job, they don't get paid.

I WILL NEVER EVER EVER enter into a contract with someone under 18 or someone who lives outside the US. When you contract with someone who is outside the US, you can't enforce your contract anyway...it's pointless. I realize you're not in the US, but the same thing pretty much applies...can you REALLY cross into another country with your contract? Probably not...and if you can, it's going to cost you a pretty penny.

Always use caution when dealing with someone you'll never meet. There are plenty of amazing, honest people out there who will give you their all and work with a passion...and then there are those who are just "meh, I'll do it 'til I get bored/find something better/etc."...and of course there are the straight-up scammers. Buyer beware definitely applies here!

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Thank you for the advice @Myztacia

ill have to look into the cross country contract thing, it just does not seem right that you can't enter contracts with people outside your country. Hmm

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@vplspride

I don't think you are completely correct on the whole contract thing. Both my sister and I started working at 15, and we needed a worker's permit in order to do so, but both places we worked required us to sign a contract saying we would behave properly. If we didn't behave, we could be fired. The contract more or less protected the company from discrimination lawsuits but all the same I was in a binding contract where if I wanted employment I had to follow certain rules. This is common with any company and I'm very much sure they would not have had us sign contracts for employment if they were null.

The thing with contracts is they can be broken at any point in time by either party, but with consequences. If I broke my contract with my employer, I got fired. If you have a contract to provide something to someone and you don't, then you don't get paid. In same manner, if my employer was treating me unfairly, I have every right to walk away from the job and find a new one.

It is true that in some cases minors can get contracts voided, they still have consequences such as returning anything received from the other party. The point of a parent or guardian co-signing is that if the minor fails to hold up their end, and they seek a void, the parents or guardians can then be held legally responsible. However this cannot be done without a parent co-signing. Also, if you have a requirement for not hiring minors, (I.E. they must be over 18) then make that also part of the contract. A minor misrepresenting their age can prevent them from backing out of a contract.

Although the way I see it, these contracts serve more than one purpose. For one, it's a clear expectation of the employer's expectations and that these expectations are understood by the one signing the contract. Second, these contracts can be legally binding if the need be, although the price of enforcing them is indeed steep. Third, there are other laws that can be broken here that while the contract may not be legally binding on a minor, they can provide evidence that the minor understood something. For example say a 16-year-old artist sold a site a bunch of artwork. Later on, they were let go as far as employment. In an angry fit of rage they start using the artwork they sold you on another site. You can come against them for copyright infringement, and use that signed or agreed to contract as evidence that the person understood they were handing over all rights to the artwork that they were paid for.

And you CAN sue a minor. There have been many cases of this, and it is very much possible that even if they back out of a contract you can still sue them for damages to your company.

Hope some of that information helps.

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@vplspride I was referring more to your first post where you stated minors cannot enter legally binding contracts. None of my other statement were directly aimed at you, apologies that it seemed that way. Everything else was just general information for anyone reading.

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@Avalanche Thank you for that very insightful post, I knew some of the stuff but a lot of it was news to me.