trendz - our client newsletter

february 2005

minimum requirments for employment agreements and the trap of probationary clauses 

Proper employment agreements are an essential part of your business. A well constructed agreement can save you a significant amount of money in the long run and can safeguard you against future employment relationship problems. Barbara Buckett & Associates can assist you in creating a contract that both meets your legal obligations and that is tailor-made to your individual needs. As a minimum, however, make sure your employment agreements (all in writing of course) contain the following:

• Names of the employee and employer
• A description of the work to be performed
• The location of where the work is to be performed
• The hours of work
• The salary/wages to be paid
• An employee protection provision (see our article for more information)
• A plain language explanation of the services available for the resolution of employment problems. This must also include a reference to the 90 day period for raising a personal grievance
• A description of the employee's entitlements to leave under the Holidays Act 2003

There are other clauses you can add to your employment agreements such as:

• closedown periods
• frequency of salary/wages payment
• restraint of trade/other intellectual property agreements
• grounds for termination

Many people have asked us about adding a probationary period clause to their employment agreements. The advice from this office in regard to probationary clauses is not to use them. There are three reasons for this:

1. You have to be vigilant about making sure you don't go over the specified period because if you go over the time period by as little as one day, you have effectively confirmed the contract
2. You still have to go through the process of identifying what the areas of concern are and provide the employee with the opportunity to rectify the situation. In other words the process is no different from the protocol you would have to follow in the absence of a probationary clause.
3. Given a probationary period is for a precise length of time, employees may invariably perform well for an initial short burst or alternatively because the first three months or so is a teething period in any job, real problems don’t tend to rear their head.

In short our advice is although probationary periods may seem like an easy way out of an unsatisfactory choice of employee, but in reality the probationary period clause is more trouble than it's worth. In order to ensure that you are properly protected and that you meet the legal requirements you need the advice of employment law experts. Please contact us at Barbara Buckett & Associates to discuss a tailor-made employment agreement best suited to your needs.

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Disclaimer: This article is necessarily brief and general in nature. You should seek professional advice before taking any action in relation to the matters dealt with in this publication. Please refer to our Legal Notices.

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