GETTING IT RIGHT
WITH YOUR EMPLOYEES (PART 2)
Employees can make or break a business – so how do you get it
right for both the employer and the employee?
WORDS: LEON PONTE
ou have gone through an
extensive selection process for
hiring your next employee in
order to get the right person for your
business. The things you want the employee
to do and what you have offered the
employee have been discussed and
evaluated in detail, and you are both excited
about the potential opportunities. All you
need to do now is work out the
commencement date. Right?
In the last instalment in the ‘Legally
Fit’ article series, we discussed some of
the minimum terms and conditions which
automatically apply to most fitness industry
employees, but also recommended that
written employment agreements be put
into place. This is, in part, to help avoid
misunderstandings which may adversely
affect the development of the new employer/
employee relationship.
In this instalment we look at some of
the issues that should be considered when
implementing employment agreements as
part of the hiring process. To read previous
articles in this series search ‘Legally Fit’ at
fitnessnetwork.com.au/resource-library.
Some of the issues may also be relevant to
the engagement of independent contractors.
Y
Implementing employment
agreements
Both employers and employees will have
rights and obligations on commencement
of employment, but there is generally no
obligation on either party to enter into
a written employment agreement after
employment has commenced.
Sure, as an employer, you can get a new
employee to sign an employment agreement
after they have started employment, but
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getting (ahem, coercing) them to do so if
there is disagreement about some of the
terms which were intended to apply is not
the best way to start a new relationship.
Any intended probationary period may also
not apply. It could also potentially lead to a
breach of the Fair Work Act 2009 (FWA).
It is therefore important to ensure
that written employment agreements are
implemented as part of the hiring and offer
of employment process rather than after the
employee has commenced work.
Employment agreements
The basic terms of employment agreements
generally include: position, duties, status
(full-time, part-time, casual), days and hours
of work and remuneration.
In addition to those things, and depending
on the nature of the fitness business and
the position, it is also recommended that a
number of other matters be considered.
Position description
A detailed position description specifically
tailored for the position, including
responsibilities and duties, should not only
be created to assist in the hiring process,
but should also form part of the employment
agreement to make it quite clear about
(some of) the expected responsibilities and
duties (and relate X] \