It is commonplace nowadays that employers require employees to sign employment contracts. The employment contract can be advantageous to you as an employee if it properly defines the employment relationship and the clauses in it are drafted fairly.
It is critical to seek legal advice before you sign to ensure that you are entering into an arrangement that is fair and certainly one which you understand. Many employees come to us after they have signed employment contracts, only to find that had they understood what they were agreeing to, they would not have done so.
For Legal Advice on Employment Agreements:
Further to this we can advise on other employment disputes and agreement:
If you are being terminated or resigning from your employment you should ensure that you understand your rights and make sure the severance package encompasses all of your entitlements. We assist where there has been systemic underpayment of salaries or disputes over bonuses and we negotiate on your behalf that you will receive what is due to you.
We can provide advice on your intellectual property rights and restraint of trade upon leaving a role to ensure that you are not open to any claims by your former employer. Even if you do not have an employment agreement in place there are certain causes of action a former employer may have against you if you infringe their rights eg intellectual property rights etc. Understanding your obligations is important when changing employment in the same industry.
If you need advice in relation to an employment contract before signing it or if you have signed one already and are looking to leave, one of our employment lawyers would be happy to speak to you.
The answer usually depends upon what you have promised to your employer. If you do not have an employment contract, it will typically be that you have no restriction whatsoever. Nevertheless, this does not entitle you, as a general rule, to remove confidential information from the employer’s business. Confidential information, a common law, as a broad definition and almost certainly includes a client database.
If you do have an employment contract, there will usually be specific provisions that deal with what you might do after you finish up. These restrictions, for instance, may be in relation to the type of competitor that you go to work for, about starting a similar business in the same area or taking employees.
Not all restraint of trade clauses are enforceable. Sometimes, they are too broadly drafted, or incorrectly drafted, having the effect of rendering the clause either partially enforceable or wholly unenforceable because they are unreasonable in the circumstances.
If you are wondering whether provisions in your employment contract are enforceable against you, thereby restricting you from certain activities, we are well experienced in providing advice to former employees in such circumstances.
Please contact one of our lawyers and 08 6181 0600 or, alternatively, complete the form on this page and will get back to very promptly.
We can also assist you in pursing your claim against an employer for such things as:
We act for clients in bringing claims for unfair dismissal, general protection claims, constructive dismissal claims and under payment claims, unfair dismissal, sexual harassment and bullying claims and more.
There are often strict time frames for bringing a claim. If you are considering doing so, we strongly advise that you seek legal advice early on.
It is common for employers who consider that there has been a breach of an employment contract, for an employer to instruct lawyers to send a letter of demand making strong allegations against the former employee.
If your employer is making these types of allegations against you and you have been served with a letter of demand for a previous employer, it is critical that you seek legal advice from a lawyer experienced in dealing with employment disputes as soon possible. Employers will quite often commence legal proceedings quickly if the correspondence is ignored.
You may consider that allegations are baseless – and they quite often are – but a response refuting those claims is still very important.
Even if you do think that you may be have contravened the terms of employment the damage can often be contained with savvy legal advice. Our lawyers are experienced in negotiating and settling all types of employment disputes.
We can be contacted on 08 6181 0600 to discuss your circumstances. Otherwise, please complete the enquiry form on this page.
Our lawyers can assist you in preparing and representing you at Fair Work and we have successfully helped many employees receive considerable compensation at Fair Work. Employment disputes are often stressful, and our lawyers work with you and know the process and requirements. Our lawyers have represented many employees and delivered great results for our clients that typically they cannot achieve if they were unrepresented.
One of the primary benefits of hiring Appius Lawyers is that you’ll receive personalised service.
Appius Lawyers is much smaller than the mega-firm, but we offer clients expertise and creative solutions at a cost that many larger firms simply can’t match.
One of the top benefits of working with Appius Lawyers is having more flexibility when it comes to billing structure.
The great thing about working with Appius Lawyers is that we focus and take the time to learn your industry, to understand your business and what we can do to help it move forward.
Need Help? 08 6181 0600