Employment Lawyers’ Top 3 Principles for Effective Employee Management

Based on my experiences dealing with employee related claims and disputes, my top 3 tips for employers wishing to avoid legal problems relating to their employees are:

1. Your Employment Contracts

It is not a legal requirement however, I would always recommend employers issue written employment contracts to all of their employees. Not only should these contracts be issued, but they should also be periodically reviewed to ensure they still reflect the nature of the relationship.

A well drafted, written employment agreement will include entire agreement clauses preventing unwanted terms being implied into the agreement both during and post-employment.

When a dispute arises, it is not uncommon for two (2) parties to have completely different recollections of events. As such, a written employment contract takes away the ability for facts to be distorted and/or manipulated and sets straight the terms and conditions of employment.

A written employment agreement also can impose post-employment and confidentiality obligations on an employee once they leave your business. A failure to have these obligations on your employees can have dire consequences and make any potential recourse against the employee far more difficult.

2. Understand your obligations to employees

Employment Law is a complex and evolving area. It has the potential to be a legal minefield for employers who do not have the resources to be consistently across updates and changes as required. It is also important to remember that the employment relationship is a two (2) way street. As such, there are a number of fundamental obligations you owe your employees that cannot be ignored.

The two (2) most common areas where I see employers come unstuck is in relation to their work health and safety obligations and not paying employees correctly as required under a Modern Award or Enterprise Agreement.

Employers are primary duty holders under work health and safety legislation and are obligated to provide a safe workplace for their employees so far that is reasonably practicable. A failure by the employer to understand and uphold their obligations under this legislation can attract significant penalties which can also be imposed against Directors or individuals of the employer.

Accurately identifying the appropriate classification of an employee and understanding their entitlements is a fundamental step and one that is so easy to get wrong.

3. Secure on Demand Access to Specialist Employment Law Advice

Problems relating to employees (and ex-employees) can spread to a business quickly and have a serious impact on workplace culture.

By getting advice quickly, strategic and calculated decisions can be made resulting in minimal disruption to business productivity and growth.

As virtual in-house counsel for many businesses in NSW and inter-state I assist organisations and managers to proactively manage employment related issues so that key personnel can;

• Spend less time dealing with employment related problems and more time managing strategic growth;
• Experience better workplace culture with increased productivity and profitability; and
• Are able to protect goodwill and Share value.