New offence for unwritten employment agreements

From 6 May 2019 an employer will commit an offence if they do not have all employment agreements in writing (this includes casual, fixed term and permanent employees).

If an employer breaches this section the employer will be liable for a $1,000 infringement fee.

There are also a number of other requirements under the Act as to the form and content of employment agreements which, if not complied with, could lead to a penalty imposed by the Employment Relations Authority.

An employment agreement must include:

  • The names of the employee and employer concerned; and
  • A description of the work to be performed by the employee; and
  • An indication of where the employee is to perform the work; and
  • Any agreed hours of work specified in accordance with section 67C or, if no hours of work are agreed, an indication of the arrangements relating to the times the employee is to work; and
  • The wages or salary payable to the employee; and
  • A plain language explanation of the services available for the resolution of employment relationship problems, including a reference to the period of 90 days in section 114 within which a personal grievance must be raised.

Workplace Law team

If you have any queries in respect of the above, or any other Workplace Law issues, please contact a member of Lane Neave’s Workplace Law team:

Employment: Andrew Shaw, Fiona McMillan, Gwen DrewittMaria Green,  Hannah Martin, Joseph HarropHolly StruckmanAlex Beal, Giuliana Petronelli, Abby Shieh
Immigration: Mark Williams, Rachael Mason, Daniel Kruger, Nicky Robertson, Julia StrickettKen Huang, Mary Zhou, Shi Sheng Cai (Shoosh)Sarah Kirkwood, Janeske SchutteLingbo Yu
ACC: Andrew Shaw
Health and Safety: Andrew ShawFiona McMillan

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