Stay Put Agreement

jhtnc

Does anyone have a Stay Put Agreement they would be willing to share? I don't need one for a Key Employee or Executive; just a front line employee. If so, would you please forward to [email]jturner@tgic.com[/email]. Thanks.

Paul in Cannon Beach

What's a Stay Put agreement?

plynnl

I was going to ask the same thing. Never heard of a Stay Put Agreement.

joannie

I googled it, but all I could find was something to do with schools.

HRQ

No leaving your desk or workstation without express permission?

Sit! Stay!

I don't know what it is either.

Dutch2

All I could think of was a you can't transfer to another positon for a certain lenght of time.

HRQ

That makes more sense. Would have to be careful with the wording so that it doesn't imply that the original position is guaranteed for any period of time either.

Paul in Cannon Beach

There is something funny about the phrase "stay put". Especially if you say it over and over.

HRQ

Because nobody listens? Funny to THEM, maybe.

ritaanz

Could it possibly mean that someone gets a hiring bonus and then signs a statement that they will not seek other employment for a year?

HRQ

That also makes sense.

Evidently jhtnc doesn't want us to know the secret.

I still like the idea of requiring employees to stay put at their desks. There's work to be done.

jhtnc, help us out here. We are trying!

jhtnc

Sorry, guys. That is a very common phrase at least I've heard it for many years. It is a retention agreement for a certain amount of time. If you will stay with the company for 3 months or 6 months or whatever amount of time to help the company transition to possibly another location or new management has come on board, etc. a certain bonus will be paid.

joannie

Guess it would be safe to say, since none of us knew what it was, we don't have a policy. Sorry I can't help you, but thanks for teaching us all something new.

HRQ

And whatever you do write, I still suggest being careful not to imply a contract of employment.

Maybe even throw in your standard handbook language that this policy/agreement is not a contract of employment, either party can separate the employment relationship for any reason at any time, with or without notice....

Paul in Cannon Beach

What's the point of the agreement then?

You can't say "We ask you to stay put for 6 months and by the way, this is not a contract and we can both do whatever we want, whenever we want, for whatever reason."

It sounds like you are creating a short term contract. You stay put. We give you something for staying put.

Then, after the prescribed period, the stay put agreement goes kaput. Right?

HRQ

Fine, be logical. Sheesh.

As long as she is comfortable that a contract is exactly what she is creating. "We expect you to stay with us, and you are guaranteed a job for this period of time. You can't quit, however if we fire you, you no longer have to honor this contract."

Better?

HRQ

I reread her description of a "stay put" agreement. It's just a delayed signing bonus, right?

If you want your signing bonus, you have to stay X months. If you leave before that you don't get a bonus. This is not a contract of employment.