Hiring staff for your business can be a consuming and stressful endeavour. Having the right legal documents in place however will make it a more efficient and pleasant experience for you and for your new employees as they join the team.
LawPath can provide all the employment documents you need in order to hire your staff and connect you with an employment lawyer that can provide legal guidance regarding the documents you require.
Hiring Staff 101: What You Need To Consider
Fair Work legislation
Before you start to hire any staff, you need to ensure that you and your business are going to be in compliance with Fair Work legislation, namely the Fair Work Act (2009).
Firstly there are ten National Employment Standards that apply to all employees regardless of the industry or award. These are:
- A maximum of 38 hours per week plus reasonable additional hours;
- Flexible working arrangements when requested;
- Parental leave;
- Annual leave;
- Personal/carer’s leave and compassionate leave;
- Community service leave (e.g. jury duty);
- Long service leave;
- Public holidays, unless reasonable requested to work;
- Notice of termination and redundancy; and
- Fair Work Information Statement to all new employees.
Along with this, you will need to find the relevant award to your specific industry.
Finances
You have many financial obligations when being an employer, especially surrounding the payment for your employees. Some of these duties include:
- Paying your employees at least the minimum wage stipulated in their award agreement;
- Making sure your workplace is meeting workplace health and safety standards, and pay pay worker’s compensation insurance for your employees;
- Keeping and distributing payslips to your employees that have your business details, pay, hours of work, tax and superannuation contributions; and
- Meeting tax obligations such as PAYG withholding and contributing to your employees superannuation.
Employment Agreements
All employees should have some form of written employment agreements. Agreements will vary depending on the nature of your business, the number of employees you employ and the frequency with which staff join and leave. If you have full time, casual and part-time employees, you will need them to a sign an agreement that is appropriate to their employment status.
Employment law is complex. It is important when hiring staff for your business to consult with an employment lawyer.
LawPath can get you in touch with a highly qualified employment lawyer. Contact a LawPath consultant on 1800 LAWPATH to learn more about customising legal documents, obtaining a fixed-fee quote from our network of 600+ expert lawyers or to get answers to your legal questions.
