There are contracts that include confidentiality and exclusivity agreements.
Contract is a term originating from the Latin word contractus , which refers to an agreement or pact , whether oral or written, between parties who accept certain obligations and rights on a specific subject matter. The document that reflects the conditions of this agreement is also called a contract.
For example: "The Chilean player will sign the contract in the next few hours and will join the team immediately" , "Tomorrow we have to go to the real estate agency to sign the contract for the renewal of the lease" , "The company violated the conditions of the contract and will be fined" .
The contract, an agreement of wills
A contract is, in short, an agreement of wills expressed in common between two or more persons (physical or legal). Its clauses regulate the relations between the signatories in a certain matter.
When determining the content of any type of contract, we must make it clear that it must contain three essential elements: the data relating to the parties who sign it; the pillars of the performance and compensation established; and the way in which the approval is given by the two parties involved.
The negotiation of a contract may include the intervention of a legal representative of one of the parties.
Classification according to type
There are many types of contracts; however, among the most significant are the following:
- Private contract , which is the one made directly by the people who sign it.
- Public contract , which is authorized by public employees.
- Formal contract . In this case, it is a contract which, as established by the relevant legislation, has a specific form of consent on the part of the parties involved in it.
- Bilateral contract , which establishes that those who sign it assume a series of obligations from that moment on.
The verbal contract , the written contract , the temporary contract , the indefinite contract and the civil contract are other types according to different classifications.
In real estate transactions, it is common to sign a sales contract.
Employment contract
One of the areas where the contract is most important is in the workplace , since the employment contract becomes the mechanism by which a company acquires the services of a worker and this worker, in exchange for a salary , assumes a series of tasks.
Specifically, within this sector we find subsidised permanent contracts, training contracts, contracts of a very specific duration , fixed-term contracts, part-time contracts, contracts for people with disabilities, replacement contracts, contracts for research staff and permanent contracts without any type of subsidy, among others.
Working in black
Working without a contract or working illegally is a problem for employees . Without a formal contract, they lack legal protection to enforce their rights, which means that employers can act arbitrarily.
Termination of employment , in this context, can occur abruptly and without justification, without the employee being able to access compensation . The lack of regulation of the employment relationship also means that the employee has no support to claim payments or to report abuse of any kind.
Suppose a man verbally agrees to work six hours a day on a construction site for $10,000 a month. Three days later, the employer tells him that he will have to work eight hours a day for the same pay. A week later, he informs him that his salary will be reduced to $8,500 a month . In this context, the worker can only accept the changes in conditions or lose his job without receiving any compensation or recognition. When an employment contract is signed , on the other hand, arbitrary modifications are not allowed: since there is an inequality of power between employer and employee, the legislation tends to protect the weaker party.
The legal effects of a contract
All contracts give rise to legal effects , which are the enforceable obligations established in their content. If a company undertakes by contract to provide a certain service and then fails to fulfill that obligation , it is possible to sue said company. Failure to comply with the contract, therefore, entails a penalty .
Most legal systems require that contracts meet three requirements: consent (the parties' willingness to accept the clauses), object (the things or services that may enter into the scope of commerce) and cause (the reason that leads the parties to enter into the contract). It is very important that the contracting parties know and understand the terms and conditions of the contract in order to act within the framework of the law.
There are various types of invalidity that render the contract legally ineffective. Nullity is a generic situation that prevents the legal consequences of the agreement from being implemented and takes it back to the time of its conclusion. Rescission , on the other hand, is another judicial declaration that annuls the contract, rendering it ineffective.