Updates to Cleardocs Employment Contract

It has now been over 10 years since the introduction of the Fair Work Act created what was essentially a completely new national industrial relations system. In order to ensure that the Cleardocs’ contracts reflect the evolution of current legislation, case law and good practice, the Cleardocs Employment Contract has been reviewed and updated.

Why was the Employment Contract amended?

The Employment Contract was amended to:

• ensure compliance with the Fair Work Act 2009 and reflect recent case law developments; and
• provide more detailed guidance in the supporting documents to make it easier for customers to understand how to tailor the agreement to suit their needs while still complying with their legal obligations.

What are the key changes?

Greater clarity around the role of industrial instruments

• The Employment Contract and guidance materials now provide greater clarity around the primacy of any applicable industrial instrument (particularly modern awards) in respect of an employee’s entitlements.
• This gives the customer greater confidence to ensure that when populating the template, the employer is including the right provisions to make sure it complies with obligations around pay and hours of work.
• Additionally, there are now greater safeguards to ensure that if an employee is covered by a modern award, their total remuneration satisfies any financial entitlements they may have otherwise been eligible for under the award.

Greater flexibility for employers

• Clauses have been inserted or amended to provide employers with greater flexibility when managing employees, including the contractual right to suspend employees in certain circumstances, to deduct amounts owed by the employee (subject to significant cautions) and the operation of HR policies.

What should you do?

If you are currently using the Cleardocs Employment Contract, consider purchasing the updated version when the employer:

• transitions an employee to a new contract (for example, at times of promotion or significant changes to salary); or
• takes on a new employee.

This will provide the employer with greater protection, particularly in light of the current focus on underpayments and modern award compliance more broadly.

As the operation of modern awards is complex, and there are significant penalties in the Fair Work Act 2009 for contraventions including underpayments, we recommend that you seek independent advice regarding the specific requirements of your business.