Every business has confidential information or processes which give it advantages over its competition. These could include customer lists that were developed using a lot of effort and expense, unique pricing formulas, designs for products, codes or systems, as well as other inventions. The law protects business by making these documents or processes confidential so that competitors cannot easily access them.
In addition to these types of documents in addition, there are a lot of administrative documents that have to be kept private. This includes detailed office layouts and seating plans, as well as internal procedures. There may also be confidential information on customers, including sales numbers or confidential information from vendors. In addition, there may be personal information of employees such as tax forms, pay stubs, and other payroll information.
A nondisclosure contract is the best method of safeguarding confidential company documents. It is essential to be extremely careful in the definition of what information is confidential and in drafting your agreement. You should dataroombusiness.com/3-reasons-to-take-your-due-diligence-qa-online/ be clear to prevent former or current employees from claiming later that they didn’t understand that the information was protected by confidentiality policies.
Be certain of the length of the nondisclosure agreement. It will not be legally binding if the period exceeds the timeframe that is reasonable to protect the legitimate interests of a company or those that are “protectable”. Generally speaking, courts look at the circumstances and decide what is fair. Consider offering a raise or a promotion in exchange for the employee’s signature in case you are concerned about the employee’s signature. This may be sufficient to deflect any allegations that you didn’t know the document was confidential.
