Well, the first step is to look through the contract and make sure that you understand fully everything that’s in there. Now, some of the terms in there might be unfamiliar to you, in which case your first port of call would be to go to your new employer and say, “I’ve seen the contract that you want me to sign, and I don’t understand some of it. Can you explain it to me?” Once you’ve had an explanation of what the terms are, if you’re not happy with the contract, then you need to approach the new job with caution, because if you start the new job, even if you haven’t signed the contract, you may be deemed to have accepted the terms purely by virtue of starting the job and agreeing to be paid a salary. Ultimately, if you cannot reach agreement with your new employer about the terms of the contract, then unfortunately you may have to decline the job all together if you feel that the terms that they’re proposing are ones that you simply cannot accept. Now, before reaching that stage, I would recommend that you seek advice from a specialist employment solicitor who can advise you as to whether the terms that they want you to sign up to are ones which they are permitted to by law, or if they are terms which we would consider to be unreasonable and/or unenforceable.
