Review and restructure your employment arrangements

Review and restructure your employment arrangements, award coverage, and workplace policies to reduce legal risk and align with how your business actually operates.

Employment arrangements that made sense when they were put in place often become misaligned with the business as it grows, restructures, or acquires new entities. Employment contracts that predate changes to employment legislation, award classifications that do not reflect current roles, and workplace policies that have not been updated in years are each a source of legal risk that compounds with every pay cycle and every new hire. A structured review of your employment framework identifies those risks before they become claims and gives you a clear picture of what needs to be updated and in what order.

What does a review and restructure of employment arrangements involve?

A review of a business’s employment arrangements involves a systematic assessment of the employment contracts, modern award coverage, workplace policies, and workforce classification practices that currently apply, measured against the requirements of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and any applicable enterprise agreements or modern awards.

A restructure addresses the gaps identified in the review, updating documentation, reclassifying workers where required, and aligning pay rates and entitlements with current legal requirements. The value of a proactive review is that it identifies and addresses compliance issues before they are identified by the Fair Work Ombudsman or raised by a departing employee.

How do I know if my employment contracts need to be updated?

Employment contracts need to be updated when they no longer reflect the current terms of the employment relationship, when they contain provisions that are inconsistent with the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) or the applicable modern award, or when the employee’s role has changed significantly since the contract was signed. Contracts more than three years old are particularly likely to contain provisions that have been superseded by legislative change or award variation. We review employment contracts against the current legal framework and the current terms of the employment relationship and advise on what needs to be updated.

What is modern award coverage and how does it affect my business?

Modern award coverage is determined by the industry in which an employer operates and the classification of each employee’s role within that industry. Most employees in Australia are covered by a modern award under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) that sets minimum pay rates, penalty rates, allowances, and other conditions. Employers paying above-award rates may still have underpayment liability if the annualised salary does not offset all of the award entitlements it is intended to cover. We assess award coverage for each employee group and advise on whether current pay arrangements meet the applicable minimum requirements.

What should workplace policies cover and how often should they be reviewed?

Workplace policies should cover areas where there is a legal obligation or a significant risk, including work health and safety, anti-bullying and harassment, equal opportunity and anti-discrimination, and privacy. Policies should be reviewed whenever there is a significant change in the law, the business, or the workforce, and generally at least every two to three years. A policy that has not been updated to reflect changes in employment legislation or anti-discrimination law may not provide the protection the employer assumes it does.

What employment law issues arise in a merger or acquisition?

In a merger or acquisition, employment law issues arise around the transfer of employment, the treatment of accrued entitlements, award coverage for the acquired workforce, and the integration of different employment contracts and policies. Under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), a transfer of business can affect the application of modern awards and enterprise agreements to transferring employees, and the acquiring employer may inherit liabilities for untaken leave, redundancy entitlements, and other accrued obligations. We advise on the employment law aspects of mergers and acquisitions, including due diligence on employment liabilities and the integration of the acquired workforce into the new entity’s employment framework.

Employment contracts updated to reflect current law and the current employment relationship.

Award coverage confirmed so pay rates are compliant and underpayment liability is identified early.

Workplace policies updated to provide real protection rather than false comfort.

Employment arrangements that have not been reviewed are rarely as compliant as they appear.

Employment legislation, modern award frameworks, and workplace health and safety obligations change regularly, and employment arrangements put in place years ago are unlikely to reflect all of those changes. A proactive review identifies what needs to be updated before those gaps become claims.

Employment arrangements that have not been reviewed in three years are almost certainly not fully compliant with current law.

Your business has employment contracts, award arrangements, and workplace policies that were put in place years ago, and you are not sure whether they still reflect the current legal requirements or the current terms of your employment relationships. The gap between what you have in place and what the law now requires is a source of risk that compounds with each pay cycle, each new hire, and each workplace event your policies were not designed to handle. A structured review gives you a clear picture of what needs attention before a claim or investigation makes those gaps expensive.

We will review your existing employment contracts against applicable employment legislation and modern awards and identify provisions that need to be updated.
We will confirm which modern awards apply to each category of employee and advise on whether current pay rates and arrangements meet the applicable minimum requirements.
We will review your workplace policies against current legal requirements and advise on what needs to be updated, added, or removed.
We will advise on the employment law aspects of any restructure, acquisition, or significant change in workforce composition.

Your employment framework was put in place when your business was different, and you are not sure it still fits.

Your business has grown, restructured, or acquired other entities since the employment contracts and policies you currently use were first prepared. The roles your people perform have evolved, the law has changed, and the policies your managers rely on may not reflect current obligations. You want a clear picture of where your employment arrangements stand legally and what needs to be updated before a claim, an audit, or a departing employee makes those gaps expensive. A structured review tells you exactly that.

What's included in your employment review and restructure service

Employment contract review and update advice.
Modern award coverage assessment and compliance check.
Workplace policy review and update.
Workforce classification and contractor review.
Merger and acquisition employment due diligence and integration advice.

What goes wrong when employment arrangements are not reviewed as the business evolves?

Businesses that do not review their employment arrangements as they grow and change typically encounter the consequences at the worst possible moment. An employment contract drafted before significant employment law amendments may contain provisions that are now unenforceable or that create obligations the employer did not intend. A modern award that was correctly applied to a role when the business was established may no longer cover the role as it has evolved, and the pay rate being applied may no longer absorb all of the award entitlements it was intended to cover. When the Fair Work Ombudsman investigates or an employee brings a back-payment claim covering a six-year period, the liability calculated can be very significant, and the expense of a proactive review looks modest by comparison.

Here is how we review and restructure your employment framework to reduce your legal risk.

We conduct a systematic review of your employment contracts, award coverage, and workplace policies against the current legal requirements and the actual terms of your employment relationships. We identify what needs to be updated, in what order of priority, and what the risk is if the updates are not made. We then assist in preparing updated contracts, confirming award compliance, and reviewing the policies your managers rely on to manage their teams. Businesses that go through this process are in a significantly stronger position to manage workplace issues, respond to claims, and demonstrate to regulators that they take their employment obligations seriously.

Three steps to a legally compliant and current employment framework.

Contracts reviewed, awards confirmed, policies updated.

Review the framework.

We review your employment contracts, award coverage, and workplace policies against current legal requirements and identify what needs to be updated and in what order of priority.

Remediate the gaps.

We assist in updating contracts, confirming award compliance, and reviewing and updating the policies your managers rely on, so your employment framework reflects current law and current practice.

Maintain compliance going forward.

We advise on how to keep your employment arrangements current as the law and your business continue to evolve, and on the trigger points that should prompt a further review.

Employment lawyers experienced in employment framework reviews, modern award compliance, workplace policy preparation, and the employment aspects of mergers and acquisitions across Australia.

We know that reviewing employment arrangements feels like a low-priority task until something goes wrong. Most of the employers who come to us for employment framework reviews are prompted by a specific event: a claim, a new hire who asks questions the existing contracts cannot answer, or an acquisition that has revealed inconsistencies in the workforce. Our employment lawyers have reviewed employment frameworks for businesses of all sizes across a wide range of industries, and we know how to identify the highest-risk issues efficiently and advise on the most cost-effective way to address them. A proactive review is always less costly than the alternative.

We understand you want to know the cost, before we get started.

We will map out our process, from beginning to end, so you know what the journey will look like before you get started.

We will provide you with a clear and detailed Work Proposal covering each step along the way.

Our fair fees are all-inclusive. No hidden costs for telephone calls, emails, photocopying, couriers, or coffee.

Our great lawyer guarantee

We want to be part of your team over the long term. We achieve this by adhering to these core principles:

Take the time

We listen carefully to understand what you want to achieve. Then we thoroughly explain our advice and step you through the documents. You can be sure you know the full consequences.

Share our knowledge

We will pass on as much knowledge as we can, so you can make your own informed decisions. We want to make you truly independent.

Stick to our knitting

We only do what we're good at. You can be confident that we know what we're doing and don't pass on the cost of our learning.

Work as one team

Someone will always be available to answer your questions, or point you in the right direction. You will also benefit from a range of perspectives and experience.

Fair pricing

For advice and documents, we provide a fixed or capped quote so you don't take price risk. If you're in a dispute, we map out the process and costs so you know what to expect.

It's your show

We're not in this for our egos. We're in it for a front row seat to witness your success.

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Review and restructure your employment arrangements