The Dangers of Employment Agreements


Are your employment agreement templates up to date? Do they support your business?

We have recently reviewed some employment cases and noted an increasing number of issues that may have been preventable through a good quality employment agreement tailored to specific business needs.

The types of issues have included old trial period clauses being used requiring detailed and complex processes to be followed, payments having to be made to workers on wet weather stand down days, redundancy compensation payments having to be negotiated and paid in some cases where it has not been covered and non solicitation and restraint of trade clauses not adequately protecting the business after the departure of an employee. We have also seen some instances where policies have needed to be updated which has been made more difficult by their inclusion in an employment agreement rather than a policy additional to the agreement.

Beyond the minimum requirements set down in the Employment Relations Act there is a great deal of scope for what terms and conditions can be included in a base employment agreement. It is here where there is the opportunity to ensure that your agreements are tailored to your specific business requirements and needs.

If you would like to review your current employment agreement templates or develop tailored agreements appropriate to your business please do contact a member of the Grow HR team.