For employees and employers
Employment contract review: what to check, and when to pay a lawyer to do it
Most people read an employment contract for the salary and the start date and sign the rest. The rest is where the trouble lives: a restraint that follows you to your next job, a notice clause that costs you a month's pay, a deductions clause, an IP clause that claims your side project. For employers, the same document decides whether a restraint will hold and whether a dismissal will be clean. This page is for both sides: what to check yourself, and when a paid review earns its fee.
Updated . General information, not legal advice.
Do you need a lawyer for this?
Advice usually pays for itself when
- There is a post-employment restraint of any length, and you are in a role where clients, referral sources or confidential know-how are the asset.
- The contract deals with equity, bonuses, commissions, relocation or training costs, or it says the employer can vary your duties, location or hours unilaterally.
- You are an employer drafting or re-issuing contracts for a team, where one bad clause is repeated across every hire.
- You are being asked to sign a new contract mid-employment, especially one that removes something you currently have.
The free route is usually enough when
- A standard award-covered role with no restraint, standard notice and nothing unusual. Check it against the award and the free tools and sign.
- Your question is whether the pay is at or above the award minimum, which the pay rate tools answer.
What can a contract not take away?
The National Employment Standards, the applicable modern award or enterprise agreement, and the minimum wage sit underneath every contract and cannot be contracted out of. A clause paying less than the award, giving less notice than the Standards, or removing leave entitlements is simply unenforceable to that extent. A contract can give more, and often does for salaried staff. Where a contract offsets an above-award salary against award entitlements such as overtime and penalties, the offset clause has to be clear and the salary has to actually cover what the award would have paid. That is a calculation, and it is one of the first things a review checks.
Which clauses cause the most trouble later?
Restraints of trade, which are dealt with on their own page. Notice periods longer than the Standards, which bind you as much as the employer. Probation clauses that try to cut notice below the minimum. Deductions clauses, because the Act only allows deductions from wages that you authorise in writing and that are principally for your benefit, and a clause authorising deduction of unspecified losses will not survive. Intellectual property clauses that reach into work done in your own time. Clauses letting the employer change your role, hours or location at will. And confidentiality clauses that purport to stop you talking to a regulator or a union, which cannot override your legal rights to do so.
What should an employer get right?
Classification and pay that match the award, with an offset clause where a salary is meant to absorb penalties. A restraint that is no wider than the interest it protects, because an overreaching restraint is the one that fails in court. Clear probation and notice terms that do not undercut the Standards. A policy incorporation clause that says whether policies are contractual, since making them contractual binds the employer as well. A right to direct reasonable additional hours that stays within the Act's reasonableness test. And a set of terms that is actually used consistently, because the contract signed and the way the job is run both matter when a dispute lands. Templates copied from the internet are where most employer contract problems start.
Can a contract be changed after I sign?
Only by agreement, unless the contract itself gives the employer a right to vary something. A pay cut, a change to your role or hours, or a new restraint presented as a take-it-or-leave-it re-sign is a variation you can decline. Declining can have consequences, and an employer who then dismisses you may or may not be on safe ground depending on the reason and the process. Signing under pressure without reading is the worst of both worlds. If a new contract is put in front of you mid-employment, that is one of the clearest moments where an hour of advice before signing is worth more than a claim after.
When does a paid review pay for itself?
Any time the contract contains a restraint you might one day need to break. Any time equity, commissions or bonus schemes are involved, because the vesting and forfeiture terms decide whether the headline number is real. For senior roles, where the notice, restraint and termination provisions are negotiated rather than standard. And for employers, any time a template is about to be used for more than one hire. Liquid Employment Lawyers is FairWork Mate's paid legal partner for contract review, an Australian employment law firm rather than a free government service, and it explains scope and fees before you commit. A review before signing is usually a fraction of the cost of a dispute afterwards.
What is the free route?
The Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94 explains the Standards and the award that sits under your contract, free, for employees and employers alike. FairWork Mate's contract review tool flags common problem clauses, the non-compete check tests a restraint against the usual factors, and the award pay tools confirm the minimum. All free general information, not legal advice. FairWork Mate is not affiliated with the Fair Work Commission or the Ombudsman.
Free FairWork Mate tools for this
Talk to Liquid Employment Lawyers about this
Share a few details and their team will be in touch to talk it through. No obligation, and you decide whether to go further after that first conversation.
Liquid Employment Lawyers is an Australian employment law firm and FairWork Mate's paid referral partner, not free Fair Work advice. They discuss scope and any fees with you directly. FairWork Mate is not affiliated with the Fair Work Commission or the Fair Work Ombudsman. For free general guidance, use the tools above or call the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.
Prefer to read about the partnership first? About Liquid Employment Lawyers
Common questions
Can I negotiate an employment contract?
Yes, and senior and specialist roles usually do. Restraints, notice, start date, and bonus terms are the usual points. A polite written request for a change, with a reason, is normal and rarely costs an offer.
The contract says I can be asked to work reasonable additional hours. Is that legal?
The Act allows an employer to request reasonable additional hours and lets you refuse unreasonable ones. Whether a particular request is reasonable depends on factors such as your health, family responsibilities, the notice given and whether you are compensated. A clause cannot make an unreasonable request reasonable.
Is a contract that pays below the award enforceable?
Not to that extent. The award and the Standards are a floor. You can recover the shortfall for up to six years, and the contract clause does not help the employer.
Is Liquid Employment Lawyers free?
No. It is an Australian employment law firm and FairWork Mate's paid referral partner. Enquiring is free and there is no obligation. The free official route for entitlement questions is the Fair Work Ombudsman on 13 13 94.
Official sources
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General information and estimates only — not legal, financial or tax advice. Always check your specific award, agreement or contract, or a qualified professional, before you rely on the result.
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