Hi again, and welcome to another episode of The Art of Business English. This week we will review some useful terms that you might come across when dealing with legal contracts.
Contracts are everywhere these days. When you get hired, your company makes you sign offer letters and employment contracts. In your job, you may need to negotiate contracts with clients and suppliers at some point. So, whether it’s for personal or work purposes, it’s important for you to learn contractual English. You’ll not only be able to read and understand contracts but also be in a better position to negotiate them.
Let’s start learning.
Employer
Meaning:
Person or firm who employs people.
Example:
“This factory is the town's biggest employer by far.”
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Employee
Meaning:
Person who works for a firm or company for wages or a salary.
Example:
“Annabel has been a hardworking and responsible employee.”
Job offer
Meaning:
An offer is an opportunity, service or item that’s presented to you to consider and think about.
Example:
“Wouldn’t it be great if you got a job offer from the company you interviewed with last week?”
Hire
Meaning:
To employ or take on personnel in a company.
Example:
“We ought to hire a public relations consultant to help improve our image.”
Dismiss/fire
Meaning:
To remove someone from their job, especially because they have done something wrong (to fire, to sack, to let go).
Example:
“Salespeople may be dismissed for many reasons, the most common of which is poor performance.”
Unfair/wrongful dismissal
Meaning:
A situation in which an employer orders someone to leave their job, when there is not a good reason to do so.
Example:
“After winning a case for unfair dismissal, he went on to become an employment lawyer.”
Severance package
Meaning:
The pay and other advantages that an employee receives when their employment is ended by the management.
Example:
“The employees were given details about severance packages so they would know the financial compensation they would receive if the plant closed.”
Redundancy/to make redundant
Meaning:
A situation in which someone loses their job because their employer does not need them, or their job no longer exists.
Example:
“Hundreds of workers were made redundant when the factory closed down.”
Redundancy payment
Meaning:
Amount of money received to compensate for being asked to leave because your job is no longer needed.
Example:
“The worker will not become eligible for a redundancy payment until they have served two years with their employer.”
Reinstatement
Meaning:
To give someone back their job or making something exist again.
Example:
“The union demanded the immediate reinstatement of all the workers who'd been sacked.”
Final thoughts
I hope you found these examples of contractual terms useful. If you would like to add your own terms to the list, send me a message on speakpipe or drop me a comment on the blog.
If you have ideas for an episode or you have an area of English that is really confusing for you, then don’t hesitate to contact me. I would love to prepare an episode just for you.
Take care till next week.
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