Employment contract in Australia
It is important to let you know from the onset that it is not mandatory by law to have an employment contract in Australia. You are at liberty to work without a valid contract and you will not be violating any of the laws of the land.
But, taking a look at the pros, it is important for employers of labour to have this contract in place so as to tidy up the missing links when contending issues arise along the line. With a valid employment contract; labour issues will be easily resolved based on the terms of the contract agreement signed and it will be fair to both the employer and the employed. One of the most tricky part is choosing a right type of employment contract.
Australian Laws that govern Employment Contract?
The laws that govern Australia employment are comprised of both Federal and State legislation. The employment law as with other countries of the world covers all the aspects of employer and employee relationships. Wages and working conditions are effectively covered.
Everything that has to do with dismissal and discrimination of all kinds are well taken care of under the law.
Who is involved in an Employment Contract?
The employment contract in Australia is an agreement that is entered into by the employer and the employed. It is a document through which the employer and the employee define their roles of involvement in the contract.
All the terms agreed to by the parties are documented and it will be included in the employment letter given to the employee.
What information is included in an Employment contract?
The employment contract should include all the basic terms of reference of the contract. All the condition of the contract such as the duties and the responsibilities of the employee as well as the obligations of the employer are all included in the employment contract.
Types of Employment contracts
We shall take a look at the types of templates of employment in Australia and what it contain for the employee with the objective of giving a proper insight to what is obtained in the sector so as to be able to know how to fix in properly to the employment that will best suit your purpose.
Fixed term employment contract template Australia
If you only wanted to work for a specified length of time in Australia, then the option of a fixed contract will work for you. All staff members under this agreement will be employed for a fixed length of time or for the duration of the projection.
The contract will no longer be binding immediately after the expiration of the date on the contract. The template comes with easy to follow instructions detailing the terms of the contractual agreement.
Casual employment contract template Australia
There is no definite term that can be used to address the issue of casual employee. What obtains is related to individual working arrangement of the employee. The casual employee is employed on an hourly or daily basis.
The hours of work on each day are irregular. The laws are governed Fair Work Act and National Employment Act
Sample employment contract letter
A valid employment contract letter will bear the logo of the employer and the first line will show the date the contract is signed followed by the name of the employer and then the full details of the employee.
All the details that is involved in the contract in form of the duties of the employees to the employer as well as the obligations of the employer to the employee will be stated in the terms and conditions of the service. The letter will be dully signed by the designated authority by the employer and the employee will sign the dotted lines of the contract.
Part time employment contract sample
The employee that is employed on a part time basis will work on an informal and uncertain basis. The commitment to the welfare of the staff is very loose. There are no provisions for sick leave or annual leave. They will be entitled to a casual loading which will offset their lack of entitlements.
Brilliant examples of this can be drawn from Bar Staff and shop assistants who are not sure of when their services will be required are perfect examples.
Standard employment contract
The letter in a full time employment sets the oundaryes in a detailed format as to the rights of the employee and the obligations of the employer to the employee. It is strongly advised that you keep this document in a safe place which will become useful if the terms of the contract are violated by your employer.
When you accept and sign the contract, it becomes binding on you according to the terms stated in the contract as well as the Fair Work Act Of 2009.
Samples of Employment Contracts
Basic employment contract Australia
At the beginning of any working relationship, the employer and the employees will enter into an agreement. Names of the parties involved in the agreement will be included in the contract and the nature of the employment will be clearly stated.
All the entitlements of the employee will be spelt out as well as the role of the employee to the employer. When the parties to the contract have signed it; it becomes a legal document that will be binding on all the parties involved.
CEO Employment contract template Australia
The CEO being the chief executive officer of any company and their contract is specified for a particular time frame subject to renewal if the performance of the CEO is something to write home about.
This is a contract that has attracted negative comments over the years because of the huge amount that is involved in paying the CEOs. People are of the opinion that they are doing practically little to get mouth-watering allowances and benefits.
Nanny employment contract template Australia
When a nanny is to be employed, it is very important to tidy all the loose ends of the contract so that there will be no issues that call for worry at the end of the day. The nanny contract should be clearly defined so as to do away with most of the problems that might likely rear its head.
Where the information on the expected roles of the nanny are well defined, there will be a smooth delivery of the contract. This contract if properly executed will give a clear job description.
Employment agreement template
The employer desires to obtain the best benefits from the employee while the employee on their part are prepared to render such services on the terms and conditions that are set forth. This is what is involved in the template of employment agreement.
The employer will seek ways of getting the best in terms of outputs from their employees while they in turn will look out for ways whereby they will be adequately compensated. It is a two way traffic that is backed up by legislation which ensures that the employer gets what they are due to from the employee and the employee is by no means cheated out of what rightfully belonged to them.
Employment contract amendment template Australia
You cannot change the goalpost during the course of regular play in the round leather game; but with contractual issues in Australia, it will be pretty easy to effect that through the use of a legal form that can be used to make the necessary changes to the earlier agreed form.
A lawyer will be involved in effecting the changes if it is to appear legal. When you write the changes in the amending agreement and you execute such, you will succeed in effectively changing the original document.
You will be required to answer some questions which will help personalize the completion of the amendment. All the questions that will be asked will not go beyond the ones that contain details about your person. They are simple questions whose answers will come readily without any much ado. When all is said and done, the original document will be effectively changed.
Employment contract template nsw Australia
When you want to go for an employment, you should decide the nature of the employment that you wished to pursue before you go for the template that will match your choice. If you are after a full employment, then you are advised to go for a template in line with your choice which will be a permanent template. If your choice is a part time mode of employment, you can as well go for a permanent template which will give you the opportunity to fulfil your desires.
What fancies you among the job options that are online is a casual or seasonal job, then you need to partner with a template that is temporary or seasonal. Your choice of the right template among the options that are online should be dictated by the nature of job that you had in mind. If you are able to get it right with the template, then you are guaranteed best returns when you go online
FAQs
Are employment contracts compulsory in Australia?
You can work in Australia without an employment letter covering you because there is no legal representation backing that up. The disadvantage of not getting an employment letter lies in the fact that the employee will be exposed to exploitation by the employer because there will be no law to back up any claims of the employee when things go wrong in the working arrangement. This is the reason why every worker should make sure he is backed up with an employment contract.
Is it a legal requirement to have a contract of employment?
It is not a legal requirement to have an employment contract because there are no such laws in Australia as at today. Depending on your choice, if you enter into a verbal employment, you will not contravene any law of the land because there is room for a loose employment.
However, when you decide to take up a job under a loose arrangement, you have to prepare yourself for a loose coordination which might deprive you of some of your legitimate rights that you are entitled to.
Is a letter of offer a contract?
The answer to that is an absolute yes. This is the document that will clearly state your roles in the employment offer and the responsibility of your employer to you. The letter will be signed by your employer and you are also expected to sign the dotted lines before the document can become binding on the employee and the employer.
You are expected to keep this in a safe place because you are likely to need it in the event that disagreements come up between you and the employer.
Does an employment contract override an award?
It is not possible for an employment contract to override an award. In Australia, we have more than a 100 industry and occupation awards which cover most of the working people in Australia.
If the contract you signed does not include any award, then the minimum pay allowed in the constitution will apply. It is better you test your knowledge about awards so that you will know how to best from it.
What makes an employment contract void?
When you sign any employment contract, there are terms and conditions that will be binding on the employer as well as the employee. It will be clearly stated in clear simple language that if any one of the two parties goes contrary to the terms in the agreement, the contract binding the two parties will cease to bind them together.
When this happens, all the responsibilities spelt out in the terms of the employment will be thrown away into the trash bin because the contract will become void.
Is an employment agreement a contract?
In answer to that, we are not going to say a definite yes. It takes two parties to get involved in any employment deal-the employer and the employee. When you have read through the terms of a contract and you feel you are comfortable with it; then you are going to reach an agreement with your would be employer.
It is when you have checked all the pros and cons involved in the line of contract and you agree with such that you can reach an agreement with the employer. When you sign the dotted lines, it will then become a contract.
What makes an employment contract valid?
An employment contract is regarded as valid if contains all the elements that explain the role of the employee to the employer as well as the obligation of the employer to the employee. It should contain the duties of the employee and the number of hours the employee is expected to work.
You will get to know the number of days that you are expected to work; where you are going to work and the details of your remuneration will be included in the contract. Included will be your employment status as well as all the conditions that surround your employment.
What are the terms of contract of employment?
The terms of contract of employment contains the details of the employees’ duties as well as the responsibility of the company to the employee. The initial probation period should be clearly spelt out and you will be prohibited for working for others while you are under the terms of the contract.
You can also include clauses that will protect your interests so that you will not be open to exploitations. You are however barred from including anything that is prohibited under the law.
What is the difference between a full time and part time employee?
The full time employee is expected to work for at least 30 hours or more in a week. Included in the package of this offer are benefits that relate to the likes of health and dental package which will not be applicable to other employees that are not working full time.
On their part, the part time employee will work for less than 30 hours in a week and they are guaranteed a minimum number of hours of 15 hours in a week. There should be a notice of termination of appointment for the full time or part time employee.
What is the difference between a permanent and temporary employee?
Just as the name suggests, a permanent employee will be hired indefinitely, there is no time frame on their employment and in as much as they play by the contractual terms of agreement, there will be no end to their service.
On the other hand, if you are classified as a temporary staff, your appointment will be within a time frame after which the contract will no longer be binding. When your appoint is based on seasons or needs, you are under a temporary form of contract.
Can my boss change my contract?
Naturally; if you performed above expectations, then your boss can change your contract to be in your favour. If that happens, there will be no cause for alarm in as much as you are going to benefit from the change in terms of financial gains and your employer is going to benefit through your expert delivery. But if for any reason your boss decides to change your contract in a way that will not be in your favour, then you have the right to dispute that under the laws in Australia and the law will definitely back you up.
What is the main purpose of a contract of employment?
The main purpose of a contract of employment is to protect the employee from any form any move that will not be in favour of the employee. There are terms of contractual agreement that you will be made to sign and any breach of it will not be allowed under the laws in Australia.
So the contract of employment is a tool that will protect the interests of every employee.
What are the benefits of having a contract of employment?
The benefits of having a contract of employment lie majorly with the fact that your interests will be fully protected. There will be no room to cheat you of what rightly belonged to you. The contract you sign should be well scrutinized so as to prevent a situation where you are going to end up singing yourself into complete slavery.
When the employer wants to derail from the terms of agreement, you can easily dig out the document as a tool to fight for your rights. Your contract of employment is your seal from exploitations.
What constitutes a breach of contract of employment?
Every employee is made to sign some clauses that will restrict them from engaging in some activities in as much as the contract existed. We have included in this category the confidentiality clause which is targeted at protecting company secrete. Employees are prohibited from revealing secretes of the company to outsiders.
There is also a clause that prohibits the workers from encouraging co-workers to work for other companies. The non-compete clause is aimed at stopping workers from working for rival brands. Involving in any of the above is termed a breach of contract.
How long is an employment contract valid for?
It depends on the nature of the employment that we are looking at. If it is a permanent employment, the time duration is to infinity in so much as there are no breach in the terms of the contract as signed by both parties involved.
There is the casual or temporary appointment which is based according to needs and the appointment will be terminated when the services are no longer needed. The time frame on the permanent contract is infinite while that of the temporary contract is seasonal based.
Conclusion
When you are in Australia, the issue of contract should be taken very seriously if you want to protect yourself from the issues that normally come up during the course of the contract. Though contract is not legal in Australia; you can take up an employment without a contract but when we look at the benefits that contracts confer on the employee, it will be clearly seen that every employee needs it to protect themselves when the big issues arise during the period of employment.
