The Standard Employment Contract: A Cautionary Tale

 

It really is a case of ‘buyer beware’ with many business owners downloading or buying standard employment contracts and templates online in an effort to save time and money.

 

Small businesses with limited human resources training are turning to Google and other search engines instead of an employment lawyer.

 

Unfortunately, these standard templates are often outdated and in contravention of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).

 

Some documents offer less benefits than the employee is entitled to receive and do not provide an employer with adequate protection from breach of contract or unfair dismissal claims.

 

The implication for employers includes the risk of penalties of up to $50,000 by the Fair Work Commission for breaching the minimum National Employment Standards.

 

An employment contract should provide employees with the correct leave entitlements and include all important details such as location and hours of work as well as notice requirements in the event of termination.

 

A properly drafted contract will ensure both parties are fully aware of their rights and in relation to leave entitlements and their obligations at the end of the employment relationship. 

 

Do the right thing by your business and your employees and contact an employment lawyer to review your employment contracts and ensure your business is protected from penalties.

 

Read More»

More on social medial and out of hours activity

Recently I wrote about social media and how what employees do with them after hours can affect employment.

The decision in Pearson v Linfox Australia Pty Ltd [2014]FWC 446 confirms that where an employer’s reputation or the security of its enterprise are at stake, this is certainly true.

Having learnt its lesson from the experience with Mr Stutsel, see [2011] FWA 944 and [2012] FWAFB 7097, Linfox implemented a social media policy and gave its employees training in it.

Mr Pearson was dismissed for his failure over time to comply with a number of Linfox policies and for refusing to sign an acknowledgement that he had read and understood the newly implemented social media policy.

In his evidence at hearing, Mr Pearson said that he had refused to sign the social media policy because it was intended to apply out of hours and “Linfox do not pay me or control my life outside of my working hours, they cannot tell me what to do or say outside of work, that is basic human rights (sic) on freedom of speech.”

In addressing the social media policy acknowledgement issue as a valid reason for Mr Pearson’s dismissal, Commissioner Gregory said that there is little point in having a policy that prevents employees from damaging their employer’s reputation and releasing their confidential information at work that leaves them free to do so out of hours.  He accepted that there were many instances where employers cannot lawfully restrict or regulate employee’s activities outside work but said that for a social media policy to operate effectively it had to reach beyond work hours.

So despite what Mr Pearson may have thought, his freedom of speech and action outside work hours was not absolute.

Commissioner Gregory observed that Linfox was not actually asking Mr Pearson to abide by the social media policy but only to acknowledge that he had read and understood it.  All the same, Linfox would expect its employees to abide by the policy and for them to recognise that breach of the policy can have consequences for ongoing employment.

Mr Pearson does not appear to have understood this. 

In any event, as Mr Pearson had breached other workplace policies relating to notification of absences, unauthorised mobile phone usage and safety procedures, it is likely he would still have been dismissed even if he had not taken a principled, but misguided, stance on his employer’s social media policy.

So employees are on notice that out of hours social media use that damages an employer’s reputation or discloses its confidential information can lead to a dismissal being upheld as valid.

Greg Doran
Director

Anyone seeking advice about workplace laws should contact Nevett Ford Melbourne Lawyers on 03 9614 7111.

 

Read More»