I have recently encountered a number of clients who have not been given employment contracts by their employer and they are uncertain about what laws apply to them. In fact, I have discovered it can be very common for employers to employ staff without issuing a contract.
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This is legally acceptable, although may not be ideal. All employment relationships are governed by the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) which provides that there are 10 National Employment Standards (NES) that must be provided to all employees. These include rules about maximum weekly hours, requests for flexible working arrangements, parental leave entitlements, annual leave, personal carers leave, long service leave, public holidays and notice of termination or redundancy pay. Details of the NES can be found at www.fairwork.gov.au
Also, many categories of employment are protected by an award, which are legal documents that outline minimum pay rates and other conditions of employment in particular industries. Not all jobs in all industries are covered by an award, and it is not always easy to determine which award applies, or at all. There is a useful questionnaire on the Fair Work website which can assist an employee or employer to determine whether an award applies to a particular position.
Preferably, employers should also issue an employment contract to all employees, to avoid any uncertainty between the employer and employee. The contract can include a reference to the applicable award (if any) and confirm any other conditions of employment which apply, including things such as probation period, uniform requirements, hours of work, and job description.
