Draft and sign an employment contract under Latvian law

When to use

A candidate has accepted an offer and the company hires them as an employee under Latvian law. Not for a contractor (use people.hire-contractor — different agreement, different tax treatment). Not for everything after signing (use people.onboard-employee). Not for changing an existing contract (salary, position, hours) — that is an amendment, use company.change-board-member-style change handling only for board members; contract amendments go through this playbook as a new run marked "amendment to <contract id>".

Before you start

• The offer is accepted and its terms are final: position, gross salary, working time, workplace, start date.
• Probation is decided (up to 3 months is the legal maximum ⚠ verify likumi.lv, DL s.42).
• If the candidate is not an EU citizen: the work authorisation question is answered. If unresolved, stop —
• The contract template in the agreements module is the current accepted version.

What a run requires2

The trail9 steps

1. S1

   Collect the inputs into one draft sheetagent

   Copy the accepted offer terms, the employee's ID data and the employer's registered data from ur.gov.lv into the draft sheet.

   Done when every field of the mandatory-terms checklist has a value or a written "N/A + why".

2. S2

   Draft the contractagent

   Fill the template: parties, workplace, position, daily/weekly working time, salary and payment date, vacation (minimum 4 calendar weeks ⚠ verify DL s.111), probation if agreed, notice periods, start date. Add a non-compete only if the owner asked for one in writing.

   Done when the draft PDF exists and every DL s.41 mandatory term is filled.

3. S3

   Check against the Labour Law checklistagent

   Run the legal-corpus check: mandatory terms present, probation ≤ legal max, salary ≥ current minimum monthly wage ⚠ verify current figure, likumi.lv, non-compete only with the legal conditions (written, duration, compensation ⚠ verify DL s.71.1). Flag each uncertain point with ⚠ and name the source to check.

   Done when the checklist shows pass on every line or an explicit open flag for the owner.

4. S4

   Approve the draftownerneeds approval · owner

   Approval · S4 · owner — the run stops until a named person records the decision

   Present the draft with the checklist result and any open flags.

   Done when the owner has approved the exact draft (a named person, a timestamp) or returned it with changes (→ back to S2).

5. S5

   Send to the candidateagentneeds approval · owner

   Approval · S5 · owner — the run stops until a named person records the decision

   Send the approved PDF to the candidate through the agreements module with a signing deadline (e.g. 5 working days).

   Done when the module shows the envelope sent, to whom and when.

   ⛔ Never send a draft that has not passed S4, and never send from a personal mailbox — use the role address.

6. S6

   Signboth

   The candidate signs with eID or e-paraksts (see documents.sign-with-eparaksts), then the owner countersigns the same way.

   Done when both signatures are on the same version of the PDF and the module shows it signed.

   ⛔ If the candidate starts work before both signatures exist, stop and escalate — the company is already in breach; do not let the start date pass unsigned.

7. S7

   Deliver and recordagent

   Deliver the signed copy to the employee (e-mail with confirmation or printed copy with receipt) — the employer must hand over a copy. Attach the PDF to the employee record; add salary and start date to the payroll input list; note the probation end date if any.

   Done when the employee record shows the contract and the delivery is recorded.

8. S8

   Prepare the state sideagent

   Ensure the employee is declared to VID as a taxpayer before the first working day (DDI declaration — filed by the owner or accountant; the agent prepares the data). ⚠ verify exact declaration form and deadline, vid.gov.lv.

   Done when the declaration data is prepared and handed to the filer, and the filer is named.

9. S9

   Hand overagent

   Create the onboarding task (bc tasks add) linked to the employee record, referencing people.onboard-employee, and send the owner a three-line summary: who, start date, contract signed by whom and when.

   Done when the onboarding task is created and linked to the employee record, the signed contract is in the agreements module, and the owner has the three-line summary.

Checks — how we know it worked

• Every DL s.41 mandatory term is present in the signed PDF — read them back from the PDF, not from the template.
• Both signatures are on the same version of the file (version hash in the agreements module matches).
• The signed copy was delivered to the employee before the first working day.
• The employee's data in the contract matches their ID document exactly.
• The probation end date, if any, is in the calendar with a link to people.probation-review.

If it goes wrong

What each step leaves behind

1. S1every field of the mandatory-terms checklist has a value or a written "N/A + why".
2. S2the draft PDF exists and every DL s.41 mandatory term is filled.
3. S3the checklist shows pass on every line or an explicit open flag for the owner.
4. S4the owner has approved the exact draft (a named person, a timestamp) or returned it with changes (→ back to S2).
5. S5the module shows the envelope sent, to whom and when.
6. S6both signatures are on the same version of the PDF and the module shows it signed.
7. S7the employee record shows the contract and the delivery is recorded.
8. S8the declaration data is prepared and handed to the filer, and the filer is named.
9. S9the onboarding task is created and linked to the employee record, the signed contract is in the agreements module, and the owner has the three-line summary.

Evidence to keep

Accepted offer reference · draft checklist result (S3) · owner approval in S4 (who, when, which version) · sent envelope id · signed PDF with both signatures · proof of delivery to the employee · DDI declaration data handover (S8) · the owner's summary in S9.

How this playbook improves

After every 10 runs ask: how long from offer accepted to both signatures, and which step waited longest (usually the candidate)? Did any S3 flag reach S4 unresolved? Did any contract need an amendment in the first 90 days — and was the term missing or the owner's decision late? A new version changes the step that caused the wait or the miss, and says so in its change note.