A modern, clear and concise Employment Contract that is suitable for all roles, from casual to permanent professionals.
A significant update to the Smarter Drafter Employment Contract precedent has now been released. This update, driven by valuable input and consultation with our client base, reflects our commitment to making legal documents more accessible, user-friendly, and compliant with current legislation.
A New Drafting Approach
The updates are designed to make the employment contract more intuitive and aligned with modern legal standards, ensuring both employers and employees have a clear, fair, and transparent agreement. Changes include:
- Updated tone and terms
- Simplified structure and styles
- Removal of unnecessary options
- Simplification of provisions
- Enhanced guidance notes
See the below table for a detailed overview of the changes we've made.
Accessing the new Employment Contract.
The new Employment Contract is available now in Smarter Drafter and is labelled Employment Contract - Updated August 2024.
Decommissioning the previous version
The previous version of the Employment Contract is now labelled Employment Contract - Superseded.
This version of the Employment Contract will be removed from the platform on the 1st of September. Please complete all drafts in this version by this date as all in-progress contracts will be deleted on this date.
If you have any questions please contact our Support Team.
Complete Summary of Changes
Previous Version
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- Drafted as a formal, commercial document focused on protecting employer rights.
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Updated Version
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- More neutral tone.
- Terms that are easy to understand for non-legally trained employees.
- Use of 'you' and 'we' instead of 'Employer' and 'Employee'.
- Simplified, less legalistic wording.
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Simplified Structure and Style
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- Removed recitals, full commercial definitions, interpretation, notice, costs provisions, and commercial boilerplate (e.g., counterparts, electronic exchange).
- Reordered clauses to position key terms first.
- Reduced complex drafting and consolidated content.
- Streamlined provisions to remove unnecessary detail (e.g., detailed payment of remuneration and superannuation, remuneration review process provisions).
- Provisions brought up to date with current legislation eg inclusion of options for employees’ ‘right to disconnect’..
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Streamlined form
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- Removed seldom-used options (e.g., fax numbers, KPIs, high-income guarantees, non-Australian company employers, non-compete around business locations, payment in cash, and foreign currency).
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Enhanced Guidance Notes
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- Moved notes to relevant sections for easier reference.
- Elaborated on various options, identifying situations not covered by the document.
- Removed irrelevant notes (e.g., right to request flexible working arrangements).
- Added guidance notes around new provisions eg right to disconnect, effective 26 August for non-small business employers
- Updated existing notes to reflect the current legislative and political climate, emphasising the need for employer compliance with employee entitlements and penalties for non-compliance.
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