Contracts
A contract is a formal, written agreement between an employer and an employee that outlines the terms of employment, including responsibilities, duties, compensation, work schedule, and other essential details. It is crucial to review and finalize the contract before the employee begins their role to ensure mutual understanding of all obligations and expectations. Odoo’s Employee module provides a dedicated space for managing employee contracts, which can be accessed through the Employee menu. In Odoo 18, the contract management features will be available in the Employees module once the Contracts module is installed from the Odoo App Store. This additional module enables comprehensive contract management, allowing businesses to create, track, and manage employee contracts efficiently.
When you access the contract section, you will find a detailed overview of each employee’s contract, including their name, Contract Reference, Department, Job Position, Start Date, End Date, Contract Type, Working Schedule, and the current status of the contract (whether active, new, canceled or expired). This information is displayed in both a list and a Kanban view, allowing for easy access and organization.
Each contract includes various critical elements such as the employee's job position, employment terms, duties, compensation structure, validity period, work permission, schedule, and more. All of this information is easily accessible under the Contracts menu, ensuring you have a comprehensive view of each employee’s contractual details.
Creating a new contract for an employee is straightforward. On the main dashboard, you will find the Contract option, where you can start the process by selecting the New icon. This will open a form where you can fill in the necessary details, including the contract name, employee’s name, start and end dates, salary structure, working hours, department, job position, and contract type.
For salary structure adjustments, you can use the internal link option, which allows you to modify the structure based on the country and the type of contract.
You can specify the country, set the default working hours, and choose the type of salary structure, as shown in the image.
Similarly, you can set the employee's working hours and schedule using the internal link to configure the working timetable.
On this page, you can input various details, including flexible hours, the average hours worked each day, the applicable time zone, and the specific schedule for each working day of the week. Additionally, to help create a structured work schedule for a two-week period, you can switch to a calendar view that spans two weeks. This feature enables a clear, organized setup of working hours over the designated period.
The Details section provides a Notes field where you can include terms and conditions related to the employee's contract. The Salary Information tab allows you to enter the employee’s monthly gross wage. In Odoo 18’s Employee module, contract statuses can be adjusted to accurately represent the various stages of an employee’s contract lifecycle. When a new contract is created, it initially holds the New status, indicating it is ready for review or awaiting approval. Once the contract becomes active, its status shifts to Running, signifying that it is currently in effect and the employee is working under its terms. If the contract reaches its designated end date, it will automatically update to an Expired status, highlighting that the contractual period has concluded. In cases where a contract is ended before its intended duration, the status can be manually set to Canceled, marking it as terminated either by mutual agreement or due to other specific circumstances.
By using these features, Odoo’s Employee module simplifies the process of managing employee contracts, ensuring clarity, consistency, and compliance throughout the employment relationship.