#75 What you need to include in your employment agreements

Do you have a comprehensive employment agreement set up for your employees?

If not, you’re leaving yourself open for litigation. I have made it my mission to help business owners avoid these situations through education and proper documentation and I’m here to help you today!

In this episode, I’m going to share exactly what you need to include in your employment agreement to set yourself up for success and avoid any awkward tricky situations.

I have seen many many versions of employment agreements over the years. I have had countless business owners coming to me to help them out of tricky situations, give advice, and review agreements that are lacking in certain areas and important details. I have seen it all and, in this episode, we’ll take a look at your agreement to see how it measures up.

I’ll take you through the important specifics that must be included in your employment agreement to ensure you’re covered and set up for a successful employment relationship. We’ll go over role descriptions, employment status, salary, superannuation, working from home conditions, awards, leave entitlements, confidentiality agreements and much more.

Bookmark this episode so you can come back again and tick everything off on your employment agreement and make adjustments where needed. You’ll feel confident that you’ve done everything you can to avoid any awkward situations down the road and your employees will feel clear in their role, entitlements and responsibilities.

TOPICS DISCUSSED AND WHERE TO FIND THEM:

[1:51]: The first 12 years of my career were spent in litigation and dispute resolution. I have seen everything that can go wrong in business. Most of these situations could have been avoided if the business owner had proper documentation and approached the situation differently.

[2:45]: When preparing your employment documents, be crystal clear on the role. Are they full time/part time/casual? Salary? Inclusive/exclusive of superannuation? Location/remote role?

[4:05]: Employers have an obligation to provide a safe working environment for their employees. But how do you do that if staff are working remotely? Have a provision/clause in your employment agreement that states what the expectations are and have a remote working from home policy.

[5:41]: If an award applies to the role, include a specific reference to it.

[5:52]: The national employment standards set out leave entitlements for employees. The employment agreement must detail the arrangements of leave entitlements.

[6:41]: Include confidentiality agreements in the employment agreement. In addition, set out the policies regarding technology and social media and be specific about how everything is managed.

[7:55]: Set out in the employment agreement who will own the intellectual property the employee creates in their role.

[8:15]: Termination must be included in the employment agreement.

[9:06]: If it’s important that a former employee doesn’t compete with your business within a certain radius, it must be included in the employment agreement. This is also where you would include non-solicitation clauses if you wish.

[10:50]: Detail the duties and responsibilities of the employee in the schedule.

[12:00]: These are the most important clauses that must be included in your employment agreement.

[12:41]: Review your employment agreements with staff annually. Things change in business and you must make sure they are up to date.

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