YouTube video (John Jonas) discussing whether to use an employment contract when hiring a virtual assistant, especially internationally (e.g., Philippines). The speaker advises it depends on the employer's comfort level, notes contracts are rarely enforceable across borders, but can signal seriousness; contracts need not be professionally drafted and U.S. law does not require one.
Chapters
Using a contract with a virtual assistant. So should you use a contract when you hire a virtual assistant? This completely depends on you and your comfort levels. Sometimes I do and sometimes I don't, and it kind of depends on how I feel about the person as I've recruited them. So generally, here's a couple things to consider. Number one, are you going to enforce that contract? Well, probably not. Unless you're willing to go to the Philippines and track the person down and stay there with a lawsuit, you're probably not going to enforce any employment contract. However, an employment contract, especially in the Philippines, does hold some weight in just asking the person to recognize that this is a serious matter, that this is real employment, that this is something that they should take seriously. And that is probably the reason to use an employment contract if you're going to do it, is that you want the person to recognize this is a serious position. Outside of that, does the contract need to be, like, professionally done? I don't really think so. You may ask, talk to your attorney about that. But for us, we've written our own employment contracts. It's not something that we've gone to an attorney or spent money on. When hiring a virtual assistant, should you use an employment contract? It depends on you. It also depends on the laws of your country where you are. Remember, often laws don't apply because you're hiring someone on the other side of the world and they don't live in your country. So you're not necessarily held to the standards of your country's laws because this isn't a normal employment situation. But that may be different in your country. In the United States, an employment contract is definitely not required.
