HR Policies

A full set of clearly defined policies are an essential tool in protecting a business from unwittingly breaching National Employment Standards. Through developing policies for your business, we have an opportunity to review workplace processes and established cultural behaviours, determine what is working for the business, and ensure that these practices meet legal requirements. We can then document your business’ HR policies and activate these documents by ensuring they are available in a format that is clear and easily for employees to understand.

Policies are not contractually binding upon the employer, but can be used to set down required standards on anything from dress code to social media use and conflicts of interest. They are useful for both employees and their managers to guide appropriate behaviours and actions at work.

Cornerstone will develop policies that are relevant and specific to your business and reflect your position and expectations. We work with a whole range of businesses to develop policies addressing areas such as drug and alcohol tolerance, bullying and harassment, leave management, travel and expenses, and expectations around IT and social media use, to name just a few. Having a clear position documented on these sometimes sensitive topics can provide businesses with some protection should an employee bring forward any claims against the business. At the very least, access to policies and procedures gives employees and management a reference point for discussions around common workplace matters affecting personnel.

EMPLOYMENT CONTRACTS

Cornerstone can provide you with a complete employment contract, developed specifically for your business and taking into account the industry relevant aspects of your workplace.

Alternatively we can review your existing employment contracts and highlight any areas that need to be amended to ensure compliance with the Fair Work Act. There are some fundamental inclusions required by law in employment contracts and we find that these are commonly missing! We work with you to determine what is important for your business, to include in your contracts of employment, and we look at structuring the contract for easy updating as you bring on new employees, saving you time during this onboarding process.

Its important to look at the awards that apply to your business and ensure the contract reflects any employee entitlements.

When working with businesses to develop suitable contracts of employment, we ensure that the key information is clear and easy to understand, and avoid the legal jargon that can erode trust between an employee and employer at the critical initial stages of employment. We work to ensure the contracts stipulate the legal requirements and obligations of the employer and set out important expectations of the employee, providing a workable document that offers the best protection available to the employer under the Fair Work Act.

Want to find out more about HR Compliance?