Paul Horvath Solicitor
5th Floor, 221 Queen Street
Melbourne Vic 3000
Phone: 03 9642 0435
Email: admin@phsolicitor.com.au
Are you an employee or an independent contractor? Are you an employer seeking to create contracts for your employees? We'll help you work through the issues involved in negotiating your next contract on the best possible terms - and avoid all the pitfalls.
We can advise you on
Drafting employment contracts
It is advisable that you consult a lawyer before signing any employment contract. You need to know at least the basics about the law regarding contracts of employment before you sign any contract.
For example even if you do not have a written document, the terms of an employment contract can be implied under the common law and from all the surrounding circumstances such as company policies or industry custom and practice. A formal contract will include all terms written into the contract. These may need to be comprehensive, and advice from Paul Horvath Solicitor will ensure the things you value are protected by written legal agreement.
Please see links below to our paper and summary on the Implied Term of Mutual Trust and Confidence.
We also strongly suggest that you get advice before negotiating or signing any settlement agreement upon termination, redundancy or departure from employment. You need to ensure that you are aware of all legal obligations and entitlements.
If you have been dismissed from work and the dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable and was not a case of genuine redundancy you may have an unfair dismissal claim. A person who has been dismissed may apply to Fair Work Australia (FWA) within 14 days of the dismissal. To be eligible to apply you must have been employed for at least six months for a large employer or 12 months if your employer has less than 15 full time employees.
If you are an employee of a small businesses of 15 people or less which complied with the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code in dismissing you then you will not be able to bring an unfair dismissal claim. To see the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code go to: http://www.fairwork.gov.au/Termination-of-employment/Pages/Small-Business-Fair-Dismissal-code.aspx
Once Fair Work Australia receives a valid application, they will conduct a conciliation conference with you and your employer. If the matter does not settle at this stage it will go to an arbitration hearing for the matter to be determined by Fair Work Australia.
We have represented clients in the Australian Industrial Relations Commission and Fair Work Australia in unfair dismissal cases. If you believe you have been unfairly dismissed please contact us on 03 9642 0435 or email admin@phsolicitor.com.au.
Every person is entitled to ply their trade and earn a living. For this reason, restraint of trade clauses are prima facie void. There are often restraint of trade clauses or non-competition clauses in employment contracts. As an employer or employee, how do you know if these clauses are enforceable? Such clauses will be valid if they are considered “reasonable”. It must be reasonable in relation to both the interests of the parties and the interests of the public.
For advice on a restraint of trade or non-competition clauses in your contract or for assistance in drafting a valid restraint of trade or non-competition clause in an employment contract, please contact us on 03 9642 0435 or email admin@phsolicitor.com.au.
The National Employment Standards are minimum standards applying to the employment of employees. Most notably, redundancy is now an entitlement of the majority of employees.
The minimum standards relate to the following matters:
(a) maximum weekly hours;
(b) requests for flexible working arrangements;
(c) parental leave and related entitlements;
(d) annual leave;
(e) personal/carer’s leave and compassionate leave;
(f) community service leave;
(g) long service leave;
(h) public holidays;
(i) notice of termination and redundancy pay;
(j) Fair Work Information Statement.
For advice on these entitlements or for help in drafting an employment agreement which complies with these minimum standards please contact us on 03 9642 0435 or email admin@phsolicitor.com.au.
The Fair Work Act may protect you from adverse action taken against you based on the following:
If you have had unlawful adverse action taken against you, you will need to apply to FWA. If the adverse action is a dismissal then you must apply within 60 days from the date of the dismissal.
If you believe you have had unlawful adverse action taken against you please contact us on 03 9642 0435 or email admin@phsolicitor.com.au.
Under the Equal Opportunity Act 1995 (Vic) employees can be protected from discrimination based on the following:
There are some circumstances in which an employee is entitled to discriminate against an employee for example to protect health and safety.
If you have been discriminated against you may be able to make a complaint to the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission. If you believe you have been discriminated against at work please contact us on 03 9642 0435 or email admin@phsolicitor.com.au.