Last week, one of KMIRs Brisbane clients inquired about using the clause they had in their standard employment contract for all permanent staff which said: either party is able to terminate the contract of employment at any time for any reason with the provision of four (4) weeks notice or payment in lieu thereof. Or words to that effect. KMIR was very glad our client rang before they acted on that clause. Many KMIR clients and colleagues would have seen such blanket clauses hundreds of times. For the most part, even for senior employees, such clauses are entirely worthless. You MUST follow the termination requirements of the Fair Work Act which definitely does not say that anyone can be terminated for any reason, any old time! Beware of off-the-shelf contracts and agreements that can be very misleading - and end up causing enormous friction, upset and cost in your workplaces. Do not cut and paste contracts you borrow from other colleagues or that have fallen off the back of a truck for the sake of saving some money. It is false economy. Over the years, KMIR has observed that fragments of contracts we wrote in the 1990s (as Kamcorp) reappear, often out of context, in the wrong places and out of date, in employment agreements, many years later. So what might look like easy and straightforward HR practice to employers, really needs professional, tailored, expert advice.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 23:10:28 +0000
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