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Setting Industry Standards of Modern Employment Agreement Design
We are recognised leaders in this field. Our innovations, particularly our plain English document designs, have set benchmarks others follow. The employment relationship is more than a purely contractual one. Our view is that the same design principles you apply to marketing material to generate the support of external customers, should be applied to your internal customer relationship with employees. We also believe in a single status approach where people performing the same work benefit from the same terms of employment because the people in your business are part of one team taking on the world. Even where some employees may be union members, our view is that the same design principles should apply, with both collective and individual agreements being virtually identical.
Employment Agreement Design FAQs
An employment agreement is an important document, so it should be prepared professionally to ensure all compulsory content is included, along with other provisions to ensure the company has flexible but fair terms and conditions of employment. It is a legal requirement to have a signed employment agreement. If an employer does not have an employment agreement with an employee the employer is liable to a penalty, currently about $4,000. Not having an employment agreement may be fine when things are going well, but when the relationship goes south, that places the employer in a very difficult position.
No. The employment relationship is more than a purely contractual one and we believe such agreements should be in a plain English user-friendly style. It’s about a ‘relationship’ rather than a ‘contract’. The same design principles businesses apply to marketing material to generate the support of external customers should be applied to the internal customer relationship with their employees. We also believe in a single status approach where people performing the same work benefit from the same terms of employment because the people in your business are part of one team taking on the world. Even where some employees may be union members, our view is that the same design principles should apply, with both collective and individual agreements being virtually identical.
Direct employment is where an employer directly employs an employee to perform work under the direct control of the employer. Such employees are usually paid by wages or salary and must have a written employment agreement. In contrast, a contracting arrangement is a commercial arrangement between a company (often referred to as the principal) and a contractor (usually a company but can also be a partnership or a sole trader, which is a single person operating a business under their own name or with a registered business name). The payment basis for a contractor is usually a set price or formula for completion of a task. However, in many cases, payment will be in regular progress payments depending on the amount of work completed in the period. To be effective the contractor must not be under the direct control of the principal and must have certain freedoms, such as the ability to decide when the work will be performed; and the contractor must be able to demonstrate they are in business on their own account with the right to sell their business if they so choose. Such arrangements are usually documented in an independent contractor agreement, which is not subject to employment legislation.
Yes. Any new employee may be subject to a trial period of up to 90 days. But note that trial periods are no silver bullet as there are many pitfalls for the inexperienced. The employee must sign the agreement before they are due to start work, otherwise the trial period will be null and void. The applicant’s agreement to the trial period is required. The applicant has the right to refuse the offer of a trial period, but in that case the employer does not have to employ the applicant. The employee must be afforded a reasonable opportunity to consider the offer and obtain independent advice if they so choose. An employee terminated under a trial period, has no grounds to bring a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal. However, that does not prohibit the employee from bringing a personal grievance for unjustified disadvantage and that happens quite frequently.
Probationary periods should not be confused with trial periods. Employment agreements may contain provisions relating to a probationary period, say from 3 to 6 months, at the start of employment. However, such clauses can be of little practical benefit unless properly set up and administered, because the usual case law rules applying to any dismissal prevail, such as the need for good cause and procedural fairness. However, probationary periods do provide a focus on the performance of the new employee and regular reviews and feedback can help the employee meet the required standards, or establish grounds for disciplinary action. Trial periods on the other hand are limited to a maximum of 90 days but the normal rules for justifying dismissal do not apply. However, even though an employee terminated under a trial period, has no grounds to bring a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal, they may still bring a personal grievance for unjustified disadvantage, which happens quite frequently.