What is an Employment Agreement?
Do I have to have an employment agreement for my job and what should I do if I don’t have a written employment agreement?
What is supposed to be covered in an employment agreement?
Can my employer put me on a fixed term employment agreement without good reason?
As an employer, can I make changes to my workers’ employment agreements without consulting them?
Can I get free legal advice about my employment agreement?
What are my rights as a casual employee?
I crashed the work car. Am I liable for the excess?
What is an Employment Agreement?
An employment agreement is a contract between an employer and worker. It covers things like hours of work, rates of pay and holidays. Every worker must have an employment agreement. It is legally binding, which means if one side doesn’t do what they’ve agreed to, the other side can enforce the agreement through the Employment Relations Authority.
All employment agreements must include certain mandatory clauses. Minimum employment conditions which are not specifically mentioned in your employment agreement are still legally binding, such as entitlements to 4 weeks' annual leave, a minimum wage and fair treatment.
Do I have to have an employment agreement for my job and what should I do if I don’t have a written employment agreement?
Every employee should have a written signed agreement with their employer, because an employment agreement can protect you if anything goes wrong and is useful in reminding you of your rights and obligations in relation to your employment.
From 1 July 2011 all employers must keep up to date copies of their employees' signed employment agreements. If you ask for a copy of your employment agreement your employer has to provide it. It’s always a good idea to have a copy for yourself in case you have a disagreement with your boss at some stage.
If a labour inspector finds an employer who doesn't have copies of their employees' signed agreements, they will give the employer 7 days' notice to rectify the issue. If it hasn't been rectified after this period the employer can be fined:
- up to $10,000 if the employer is an individual
- up to $20,000 if the employer is a corporation
So if you don’t have an employment agreement, ask your employer for one. You could offer to create one yourself using the Department of Labour's Employment Agreement Builder and give it to your employer to read and consider. If you can’t agree on the conditions of the employment agreement, your employer must still keep a copy of it until a variation of it has been agreed to and signed by both parties.
What is supposed to be covered in an employment agreement?
Some things have to be included in an employment agreement by law but most agreements will have extra parts to them to suit your particular situation. There are also a number of minimum conditions that have to be met whether they are included in the agreement or not. The Department of Labour's Employment Agreement Builder can help you create an employment agreement and sets out what is needed, including:
- the parties (the name of the employer and the employee)
- the employee's job title
- the nature of the agreement, for example that it is an agreement for full time employment
- the employer’s obligations
- description of the employee’s duties
- the location of work
- the hours of work
- the term of the employment agreement
- pay details, such as how, how much and when it will be paid
- public holiday entitlements
- how restructuring situations will be handled
- how any disputes between the parties are resolved, including information about raising a personal grievance
Can my employer put me on a fixed term employment agreement without good reason?
Sometimes employers and employees agree that employment will be for a set period of time or until the work is completed. Fixed term employment agreements can only be agreed upon where there are genuine reasons for having a fixed term arrangement. Genuine reasons might be, for example, to cover a period of parental leave, or in order to work on a specific short term project or event. Attempting to exclude an employee’s legal rights or using a fixed term period to check whether someone is suitable for permanent employment are not genuine reasons. The reasons for your employment being fixed term must be set out in writing in the employment agreement.
An employer can’t hire someone on a fixed term agreement where the job is really a permanent one and the employer just wants to avoid having to go through a fair disciplinary or dismissal procedure if there are problems.
With fixed-term agreements, special provisions can apply for annual holidays, sick leave and bereavement leave. You can phone the Department of Labour on 0800 20 90 20 for more information about this.
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As an employer, can I make changes to my workers’ employment agreements without consulting them?
No. As an employer you can’t change the terms of the employment agreement without agreement from your employees. Any proposed change to an employment agreement requires agreement between you and your employee (if there is a collective agreement, you would need to negotiate with the union).
Can I get free legal advice about my employment agreement?
You can ask any Community Law Centre for help with an employment agreement or with any other legal aspect of your employment. Or you can approach your local CAB – they can link you up with free legal advice in your local community. Some bureaux provide legal clinics at the bureau. You can also telephone the Department of Labour Infoline on 0800 209 020.
What are my rights as a casual employee?
A casual employee’s rights are the same as any other employee’s in respect of dismissal, freedom from discrimination or harassment and ensuring they receive the benefits written into their employment agreement. The main difference for a casual employee is that there is no expectation of work by either party. What this means is that a casual employee’s boss only expects them to come into work when they ask them to and only if the casual employee then agrees to come in. Casual employees are often employed on an on-call basis, for example providing cover when illness or unexpected absenteeism requires extra personnel.
In a casual employment agreement there will be no fixed hours that the employee must work from week to week and equally no fixed number of hours their boss has to offer them each week. Each occasion of work will be a separate engagement and there is no obligation to provide further work once it ends. If there is a regular pattern of hours worked each week then an employee might actually be a part time worker instead of a casual employee. A part time worker has hours that they are expected to work by their boss and that they can expect to work each week.
Casual employees must have a written employment agreement, even if it is just one page. It is standard for a casual employee to have a single employment agreement that they agree will apply to each engagement. Entitlements such as overtime depend on the relevant employment agreement.
As a casual employee only works from time to time, when it comes to claiming parental leave, sick leave or bereavement leave then some employees may not qualify because of their irregular work patterns. For instance you qualify for parental leave if you have worked for the same employer for an average of at least 10 hours a week, and at least one hour in every week or 40 hours in every month in the six or 12 months before the baby arrives. If you work casually you may not meet these requirements. For more information see the Department of Labour website or contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau.
I crashed the work car. Am I liable for the excess?
This will depend on the situation and on your employment agreement. For more information see the Department of Labour website or visit your nearest Citizens Advice Bureau.