Question:
A potential employer in Israel (kupat cholim) has a standard contract. In the contract, it stipulates that I will be an independent contractor and not an employee (ie, that I get no benefits or paid vacation etc, with the understanding that I get higher wages). Then the contract states that if for some reason at some future time, a court determines that the relationship was actually an employer/employee, (and that they indeed owed me benefits all this time), then I’ll immediately return 30% of all my wages that I made, “and pay ribbis on it too”. Is it a problem to sign such a contract? I actually already asked Human Resources to change the wording, and they consulted their legal department and they are refusing to budge. But anyway, I have no plans to turn my relationship into that of an employer/employee. Can I sign such a contract?
Answer:
Signing such a contract can be problematic. You can ask Meuchedet to sign a heter iska, or at least state that you want to add to the contract that it is in accordance with the heter iska that Meuchedet has.
Best wishes
