Boring paperwork?  Maybe, but it can save your bacon!

If one of your employees does something like take a personal grievance or make a complaint to MoBIE (Department of Labour (DOL) in another life) one of the first things that will be examined is any employment agreement that is in place.

If there’s no agreement in place, then, as an employer you are in breach of section 64 of the Act and the other party is likely to go ‘aha – gotcha!’  ...Potentially very costly!!

Apart from this, the best reason to have an employment agreement is so that there is clear evidence of what was agreed when the worker started. Issues that are sometimes unclear and get challenged later can include:

•  The pay rate
•  When pay increases happen
•  What the hours and days of work are
•  What job the person has been hired for
•  How much leave they can have (sick leave, annual leave, bereavement leave)
•  Who they report to
•  What benefits they are entitled to, for example, can they make personal calls on the work mobile? Drive the work car in the weekend? Complete perk jobs at work?

Notwithstanding all this, doesn't it make a good impression with your new employee that you do things properly and follow the rules?

If you don’t - why should your employees?

by Marianne Wilkinson