Believe it or not, there is no such thing as an obligation to the creation of employment contracts in Australia. With that said, making sure that you have one is important if you want to run a smooth business.
There are several issues that can arise due to a lack of legally binding contracts. Some of those issues can be quite damaging for a business. Not just in terms of expenses, but also in terms of the business reputation.
Today, we are going to give you the most essential information regarding the reasons why you should use employment contracts. We also go into some essentials on what needs to be included in this type of contract.
Is it really necessary to create an employment contract for an employee?
There are many small business ventures that decide to just shake hands with the employee. This means that they mention what they expect from the employee, but they don’t specify any rules or regulations.
Just because something is not legally required, it does not mean it is not essential for your business. You will save yourself the possibility of legal battles, poor employee performance, confidential information theft, and many other headaches.
While it is great to trust people and to have faith in their intentions, the reality of the business world is that you need to protect your interests. This is a lesson that is often learned the hard way, but you could avoid that by taking the time to create a document that will be useful as long as you are in business.
How to create ideal employment contracts for your business?
We could tell you that there is a perfect template that is going to be optimal for your needs. The problem is that saying this would be misleading and inaccurate. The truth is that there is no specific way to do this, but there are some core essentials that all employment contracts should include.
The following list gives you a basic roadmap of the content you need to include in your contract. It is important to remember that this does not mean there aren’t other considerations for your specific needs.
The 101 on your priority of additions to a contract includes:
• The name of the employer
• The job position of the employee
• The date when the employee begins to work for the business
• The period of employment
• The work schedule for the employee
• The compensation in case the employee is fired
• The specific privacy policies of the business
• The restrains to protect confidential information
You need a professional contract
There should be clear and very concise content included in employment contracts. This is going to be the most reliable way for you to avoid adding unclear statements that will void the contract of any legal value.
This is the reason why we strongly recommend that you look for a professional that handles this type of contract creation. The main reason for this is that it will help you obtain the best possible content for your business needs.
We would also recommend that you avoid using any online templates. It is impossible for a template to cover all the needs and specific rules and regulations that you need at your workplace. Not to mention the possibility of inaccurate and outdated information.
Final thoughts on employment contracts
While it is no obligation of any kind for you to provide employment contracts to your new employees, it is a very important thing to consider. Having no contracts for your workforce is like playing a game of roulette and letting luck and faith take the reins of your business.
At HR Expertise, our HR consultants provide assistance with drafting employment contracts. Contact us today, we would love to work with you.
Cedric has 13+ years of demonstrated experience as a senior HR generalist with a broad commercial and project-driven background within leading global organisations across a range of industries. He is qualified with an MBA from the Australian Institute of Business (AIB), an Advanced Diploma of Management specialising in Human Resources and an HR Consulting – Business Partnering course from the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI).