Contracts
Commercial
Litigation
Employment
Law
Debt
Recovery
Legal Solutions for Trade Businesses
Running a trade or construction business is demanding enough without legal issues getting in the way. Our lawyers provide practical, industry-specific advice to help you protect your business and avoid costly disputes.
End-to-End Legal Support
We help you win the work
We help you put strong agreements in place from the outset, including tendering support, contract negotiation, and protecting your rights before you commit to a job.
We help you manage the work
As projects progress, we assist with compliance, contract management and dispute resolution to help keep work moving and issues under control.
We help you get paid
We make sure your payment terms work to protect your cash flow. And if debts do arise, our lawyers provide a practical, efficient approach to debt recovery.
Our expertise
From start-ups to large contractors, we help businesses in the electrotechnology, construction, and trades industries across Australia get on with their work confidently.
Frequently asked questions
Have questions? We are here to help.
Unpaid parental leave is dependent on how long the employee has worked for you and whether their partner is also taking parental leave from their employer.
If the employee has been with you for at least 12 months at the expected date of birth of the baby, they are untitled to take up to 12 months off on unpaid parental leave. If their partner is also taking parental leave, up to 8 weeks can be taken at the same time. This 8 weeks is known as ‘concurrent leave’.
An employee can assess paid parental leave if they pass the primary carer test, work test and income test. The employee can apply to the Department of Human Services (Centrelink) for payments during this time. If they would like, you can also pay their accrued annual leave to cover some of the leave period. Note: sick and carers leave cannot be paid during this time.
There are additional changes to paid parental leave that are coming through a Bill that was passed in March 2023.
These changes will come into effect and apply to employees who have babies on or after 1 July 2023.
Parental Leave Pay and Dad & partner pay will be combined into a single 20-week pool of leave from 1 July 2023. Both parents can decide how they want the leave taken and how they will split it amongst themselves. The leave must be used within 2 years of birth/adoption.
Instead of just a single income threshold, there will now be a household income threshold of $350,000 for households to be able to access this leave.
Business Solutions Hub is by your side. Subscribe today and keep up to date with changes as they arise.
Current legislation allows employees such as those dealing with caring responsibilities, disabilities or over 55, to request flexible work arrangements after 12 months of continuous service (excl. casuals).
The following key amendments are to deter refusals and encourage genuine discussions between employer and the employee:
- Amend procedure to include new requirements for employers to genuinely try to reach agreement.
- New requirements for employers to provide detailed reasons for refusal plus information on alternative arrangements.
- New dispute resolution processes, such as mandatory arbitration (including orders from the Fair Work Commission to the employer to grant the request or make other changes to accommodate the employee’s circumstances).
- Extended application of current civil penalties to breaches.
These changes expand the operation to enable an employee who is experiencing family and domestic violence to also access Flexible Workplace Arrangements.
These changes around Flexible Workplace Arrangement only come into effect on 6 June 2023. This gives businesses time to prepare. In the next few months you should be reviewing your current practices for considering and responding to requests for Flexible Workplace Arrangements and include updating or implementing policies or procedures on Flexible Workplace Arrangements to ensure they align with the new changes.