The three most important issues in negotiating employment contracts generally include:
1. The compensation terms. Is it a base salary or base-plus bonuses contract, or is it more fully based on productivity? The more senior physicians are in practice traditionally the more they are focused on productivity. However when physicians sell their practices or join new employers, they often want a serious
guaranteed base and term.
2. The termination provisions. How easy is it for the practice or hospital to terminate the physician or the physician to terminate the contract? Can termination be without cause and on how short a time period? In contrast, must the employer show cause to terminate the contract? Here if termination without cause, the physician typically wants a longer, rather than shorter, notice period.
3. Are there restrictive covenants. If so, how long are they for and how large a mileage radius? Can they be bought out? Does the state have a law restricting non-competes? These vary from area-to-area and specialty-to-specialty.
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