> Many times people will renege on verbal agreements to allow things, either because of inflated concerns about liability or competition, or simply out of ignorance or spite.
That's what I meant with 'people you don't want to work for', especially the ones that act out of spite. I found all employers that I worked for in my career quite supportive, some would even allow me to work on the side projects during office time.
> I don't wish to exposed to those legal possibilities. It's just not acceptable to me.
Certainly your choice. Given that a lot of US employment contracts have clauses to the same effect I'd be curious what options remain. European law is fairly well standardized and I'd not be surprised if other european countries have laws to the same effect. Germany tends to be pretty employee friendly.
And how do you tell ahead of time if someone's going to change their mind or go back on their verbal agreement? You can't.
In the US I would at least be free not to sign such a contract, or demand the clause be removed. I'm in the UK and I wouldn't sign anything like that here either. I also don't believe we have anything like that in law, though I could be wrong.
I know Germany (and much of the EU) are very employee friendly, which is why I find this so surprising, and frankly pretty outrageous.
> And how do you tell ahead of time if someone's going to change their mind or go back on their verbal agreement? You can't.
Ok, sorry, I was unclear: Talk about it, come to an agreement and get that in writing. E-Mail as confirmation should be enough to move the burden of proof to the employer.
> I know Germany (and much of the EU) are very employee friendly, which is why I find this so surprising, and frankly pretty outrageous.
I'm not surprised. This certainly is an area that will get a lot of problematic cases. The law in germany not only contains the first right of the employer to certain inventions, it also stipulates fair compensation and guidelines about the correct process. I much prefer that over "let's battle that out in court." It's actually quite employee-friendly.
That's what I meant with 'people you don't want to work for', especially the ones that act out of spite. I found all employers that I worked for in my career quite supportive, some would even allow me to work on the side projects during office time.
> I don't wish to exposed to those legal possibilities. It's just not acceptable to me.
Certainly your choice. Given that a lot of US employment contracts have clauses to the same effect I'd be curious what options remain. European law is fairly well standardized and I'd not be surprised if other european countries have laws to the same effect. Germany tends to be pretty employee friendly.