Other tangibles to ask for in a contract besides salary/vacation

[doclude]

My wife is joining a private pain practice with only one physician (she would be the second).

He is offering decent money and vacation, coverage of malpractice. However he is not offering 401k until 12 months later, and health benefits which we don't need at 50% after 2 months.

Anyone else have suggestions/experience on what to negotiate for?

I was hoping for 401k contribution (even if he doesn't match this year), and potential for car allowance given we aren't taking healthcare or disability through him.

 

[jhwkr542]

Lots of things:

Tail malpractice coverage

Signing bonus

Partnership

Non-compete clause

CME (both time off and money for it)

Call and coverage (this can get very detailed...essentially the work structure and how she gets patients, how many rooms she gets, staffing to fill the rooms, etc)

Overhead expenses

Termination with and without cause

Licensing fees and other fees associated with practicing (MOC, board exams for re-certification, etc)

 

Just a few that immediately come to mind.  These things need to be worked out before signing a contract.

[spiritrider]

If the practice has other employees, the 401k is not likely to be negotiable. 401k plan employee eligibility rules have to apply to all employees equally.

[jfoxcpacfp]

May or may not be applicable, but maternity leave? Also, the option to carry over unused vacation time (like a week/yr) if not used?

If the partnership/buyout option is there, w/b good idea to discuss in advance, even though she won't be able to nail anything down 2 years in advance. It's just tough to get close to being a partner and then realizing terms are onerous.

I'd insist on funding a buy-sell life insurance contract in event of death of one of the partners (I know, looking far ahead here and also may not be applicable).

Just curious, why not taking LTDI through him?

[mamaham]

be sure to get the contract reviewed.  a review will point out all the things that you could ask for that aren't there and make sure that the items there are clear.

 

we used http://www.contractdiagnostics.com/.  very happy with the service and peace of mind that comes from having a review by someone who does this all the time.  they offer a variety of options for the review.  worth every penny!

[doclude]

thank you all great suggestions.

 

This person runs his practice like a mom and pop shop. it took a year to get to a contract, but since my wife wants to remain part time, we haven't been in a rush to push things from her current job.

 

The contract will definitely be reviewed. I am just brainstorming other "compensation" related ideas to include since a lot of the major ones are spoken about, and i figured we are saving on health insurance and LTDI (she is locked in at a low rate already).

[MPMD]

as jhwker said above if joining a solo group as the second doc and not an immediate partner i would want the call coverage ironed out very clearly in this contract.

have a friend who joined a similar practice and found out after the fact that the "partner" didn't really ever plan to be on call once he had "help." admittedly pain might not have much call duty if any.