How To Tell If My Work Contract Is Invalid?

Work contracts are an essential part of business and can be used to negotiate the terms of any type of agreement between two parties. When both sides agree on the terms and sign their names, they have entered into an enforceable contract. However, sometimes things go differently than planned, and contracts must be modified or voided entirely if circumstances change unexpectedly or if one party does not follow through on their obligations.

When A Party Is Threatened or Coerced Into Signing

A contract may be voidable if one of the parties is threatened or coerced into signing the agreement. The threat might also be implicit rather than explicit; for example, if you offer someone money under pretenses to get them to sign an agreement with you.

Both parties are equally responsible for what happened and have violated their obligations under the law in these cases. However, there are consequences for each party:

If you signed the contract under the influence of drugs or alcohol, that agreement is invalid. Not being mentally competent at the time of signing is grounds for voiding a contract altogether. However, there are exceptions if either party can prove that he or she wasn't under any sort of influence when entering into an agreement:

When Terms Are Breached

When the terms of a contract are breached, it is called a breach of contract. In this case, the parties to the agreement have yet to fulfill their obligations under the contract.

Contracts can be breached by either party, and they do not need to be intentional breaches for them to be valid reasons for voidability. You may be the employee, but that does not mean the employer can ignore the terms they legally agreed to uphold.

Overly Broad Provisions In The Contract

When drafting a contract, it is crucial to be aware that overly broad provisions may not be enforceable. For example, if your contract states that you will only be able to use the services after paying the provider before using them, this would be an invalid provision because it would allow one party to retain control over the other party's funds without any reason or justification. This kind of provision is so broad that it cannot possibly apply in all situations; therefore, courts will not enforce such a wide-ranging restriction on one party's ability to use their property as they see fit.

On the same note, provisions that require the employee to commit otherwise illegal acts are not enforceable in any context. If your work contract asks you to commit fraud or even falsify documents, you have no legally binding reasoning to carry out such actions.

It can take time to determine what may be considered broad or decipher the legal language. When in doubt, the best solution to dealing with contract issues is getting an experienced attorney. Luckily we are here to help.