There can be no express or implied suggestion by the employer that the employee has one of two options - he can take it or he can leave it. Such a high-handed position will render the end product of those discussions vulnerable to successful attack in a court of law on the basis of duress.

Properly drafted, an employment contract offers many advantages to the employer:

1. it limits liability on termination to the notice period set out in the contract;
2. it permits the employer to insert a probationary period without any penalty to itself if the employment does not work out;
3. the employer can define the job description so there can be no misunderstanding with regard to subsequent changes in the employment contract. The job description can be broadly based in order to avoid the implication that adjustments will result in a fundamental change to the employment relationship;
4. certain assumptions can be built into the contract - for example, that the employee agrees to move to another geographic location at the request of the company;
5. expenses, benefits, and perks of office can be set out so that these matters do not become troublesome in the future;
6. the promises contained in the contract represent all the promises made to the employee, so it cannot subsequently be alleged that there were additional verbal promises of increases in salary, promotion, or change in responsibilities;
7. the employee will acknowledge in the contract that he has had an opportunity to review the contractual revisions and to seek independent legal advice if he wished to do so, and
8. the company can limit the duration or length of the contract and provide for renewal periods if it is in its interests to do so.