What to check before accepting a job offer

Before accepting a job offer, verify who is hiring you and turn every important promise into a written term you understand. A title and monthly amount are not enough to evaluate pay, time, risk or the legal arrangement.

Verify the employer and sender

Compare the offer with the original vacancy and interview process. Confirm the legal entity, official domain, work location and person authorised to issue terms. The Corporate Affairs Commission search can help verify a Nigerian registration record, but it does not prove that a message or bank account belongs to that company.

Treat payment demands, personal-account transfers, equipment-release fees and requests for one-time codes as high risk. Verify unexpected instructions through a separate official channel.

Read the complete written terms

For workers and arrangements within its scope, the Nigeria Labour Act requires an employer to provide specified written particulars no later than three months after employment begins. Those particulars include identity, the nature of employment, fixed-term expiry where relevant, notice, wage calculation and payment frequency, hours, holidays and certain sickness terms. The Act's definition of worker excludes some people in administrative, executive, technical or professional roles, among others. Do not assume this section covers your arrangement or guarantees that every term will arrive before acceptance; this guide is a decision checklist, not personal legal advice.

Ask for clarity on:

• Employer and employing entity.
• Job title, duties, reporting line and location.
• Employee, fixed-term, contractor or employer-of-record arrangement.
• Start date, term, probation and confirmation process.
• Working hours, shifts, overtime and remote or hybrid expectations.
• Notice, termination and any repayment conditions.

If a policy or handbook contains a material term, request access before deciding.

Break down the compensation

Preserve the original amount, currency and pay period. Separate base pay, fixed allowances, variable bonus, commission, equity and one-off payments. Confirm whether each figure is gross or net and how often it is paid.

Ask which conditions control bonus or commission, who sets exchange rates for foreign-currency pay and who bears transfer fees. A target bonus is not guaranteed salary. Use the SalaryPadi take-home-pay tool only as a sourced scenario; actual payroll and current rules decide the payment.

Examine benefits and work costs

Record pension treatment, health cover, paid leave, equipment, data, travel, relocation and training. Confirm eligibility dates and whether a benefit is employer-paid, shared or deducted.

Estimate the costs the job creates: commute, meals, power, internet, childcare, equipment and currency conversion. Keep those personal assumptions separate from the employer's written offer.

Read restrictions carefully

Review confidentiality, intellectual-property, exclusivity, outside-work, non-solicitation and post-employment terms. Do not assume they are standard or harmless because they appear in a template. Seek qualified advice when a restriction is unclear or material.

For contractor offers, confirm invoicing, payment deadlines, taxes, leave, equipment, intellectual property and what happens when work stops. The arrangement label alone does not settle legal status.

Test the decision timeline

Ask when the employer needs a response and whether that date is flexible. A real deadline helps you organise references, notice and competing processes. Extreme pressure combined with missing terms is a reason to slow down and verify.

Do not resign from a current role or pay relocation costs based only on a verbal promise. Confirm conditions such as references, background checks, immigration approval or funding and understand which party can withdraw.

Compare the complete decision

Use three views: guaranteed cash, realistic first-year value and non-financial factors such as manager, scope, learning, schedule and risk. Mark unknowns rather than inventing values. Ask the employer to correct any material difference between interview promises and written terms.

Accept through the requested verified channel and keep a secure copy of the final terms. A checklist cannot determine whether an offer is right for you, but it can expose the evidence and unanswered questions behind the decision.