[ryandrake]

> We also had an employee with a 'powder clause' in her contract. Any day with over a certain amount of snowfall meant a day off.

This person is my new hero.

I wonder how common this is, though. I mean, I've mostly worked for medium-to-huge sized companies, and as WorkerBee number 56612, I have zero ability to get anything non-standard or cute into my actual employment contract. I get the same standard boilerplate as all 50K other WorkerBees, and if I don't like it, I can go pound pavement.

[xyzzy_plugh]

This is a lie they tell you. In reality there is no "standard employment contract." It's a living document. There's a non-zero chance that every colleague you work with has a slightly different contract than yours.

The world is messy and The System is designed to accommodate the mess. In my experience, you get maybe one or two free negotiation points to spend without any consequences. Worst case, they say no. You can't typically change everything, but getting more salary or time off or flexible hours or signing bonus or a powder clause are not crazy in the grand scheme of things.

Once you sign, though, the game is over. Unless you're a keystone it's unlikely you'll be able to renegotiate.