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HOW MUCH DID THAT COST?

By Anica Cunanan, Solicitor at Matthews Folbigg in the Insolvency, Restructuring and Debt Recovery Group

With any debt collection service, such as a debt collection agency or a debt collection lawyer, the costs of debt collection can be significant. So the question we are always asked is ‘Can the debtor be held liable for my debt collection costs?’

As we tell our valued debt collection clients, there are at least a couple of different answers to this question. But critically, debt collection clients can take steps to get a better outcome in relation to their debt collection costs! [...]  READ MORE →

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Important GST Withholding Legislation

On 1 July 2018, a new regime of GST withholding obligations comes into effect and is set to create considerable change to property transactions which property lawyers should be aware of.

Where a supplier (the vendor) makes a taxable supply of new residential premises or a subdivision of potential residential land by way of sale or long term lease, the recipient of the supply (the purchaser) is required to withhold an amount from the contract price and remit it to the Australian Taxation Office on or before settlement. [...]  READ MORE →

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Employment Law – Protecting Company Connections

Employment Law – Background

Employers can take pre-employment steps to safeguard intellectual and commercial property such as company information or Linkedin connections. Furthermore, HR needs to establish a compliance framework for employee conduct, expectations and obligations.

In addition, an ex-employee’s Linkedin connections are ‘unlikely’ to be defined as trade secrets belonging to the former employer.

Employment Law – Tips for Employers

Our Matthews Folbigg Workplace Solutions employment law team recommends employers:

  • insert key restraint of trade provisions. These should explicitly refer to the use of social media connections
  • include restrictive terms for the post-employment period. For instance, restricting the use of social media to publish or share content
  • obtain a list of the employee’s current social media connections
  • include terms which provide that connections gained during the course of employment are the property of the employer
  • creating appropriate social media policies and guidelines. These should cover the course of employment and post-employment.
  • train employees to ensure understanding of obligations
  • draft new/changes to employment contracts with the assistance of an employment lawyer
  • draft new/changes to employment law policies with the assistance of an employment lawyer
  • speak to an employment lawyer about what company information can be protected
  • ensure employment contracts and employment law policies comply with relevant employment laws, Fair Work Commission decisions, common law employment law principles and contractual obligations

Employment Law – More Information

Please call the leading employment lawyers in Parramatta, the Matthews Folbigg Workplace Solutions employment law team on 9635-7966 to speak with one of our employment lawyers. [...]  READ MORE →

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Employment Law – Recommendations for Employment Entitlements

Employment Law – Background

This article provides a consideration of the pros and cons of including employment entitlements in the following forms:

  • HR policy
  • Enterprise agreement
  • terms in a separate employment contract

Employment Law – Enterprise Agreements

Employers should actively encourage diversity and inclusion by using ‘inclusive’ language in the Enterprise Agreement. It should include:

  • Paid parental leave for both primary and secondary carers (this language includes same-sex couples)
  • A flexibility term
  • A consulation term
  • A disputes, grievance handling provision
  • Rates of pay
  • Provisions that enhance productivity improvement and flexibility.

Employment Law – HR policy versus Enterprise Agreement

Pros of using a HR policy include:

  • the benefit of non-binding application compared to a binding provision for the life of the Enterprise Agreement
  • less legal exposure in policy statements as breaches of enterprise agreements can incur fines or legal action
  • HR policies can be amended from time to time
  • a policy statement adds details and implementation procedures to the core entitlements contained in the Enterprise Agreement

Employment Law – Contract Provisions

Pros of putting provisions in individual contracts include:

  • flexibility to accommodate personal circumstances compared to a collective enterprise agreement
  • opportunity to trial new arrangements such as flexible working arrangements

Cons include:

  • provisions are difficult to remove later on
  • offering different conditions to different employees may increase the likelihood of discrimination complaints

Tips for Employers

Our Matthews Folbigg Workplace Solutions employment law team recommends employers:

  • engage an employment lawyer to ensure consistency with all employment documents containing employment entitlements
  • aim to include every employee demographic group to avoid criticism
  • use specific advertisements for employment to target specific demographic groups
  • ensure management are aware of the implications of a policy
  • educate staff particularly managers who are responsible for eligibility and implementation
  • train managers on handling ‘sensitive’ conversations with ‘minority’ employees
  • provide supporting resources such as toolkits and access to external experts
  • consult an employment lawyer about whether to adopt a policy, enterprise agreement or the insertion of provisions in a separate contract
  • speak to an employment lawyers about the cost-benefit analysis of each approach
  • prepare new employment law policies as required
  • draft new/changes to employment contracts with the assistance of an employment lawyer
  • draft new/changes to employment law policies with the assistance of an employment lawyer

Employment Law – More Information

Please call the leading employment lawyers in Parramatta, the Matthews Folbigg Workplace Solutions employment law team on 9635-7966 to speak with one of our employment lawyers. [...]  READ MORE →

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Property Law changes to Off-the-Plan Contract

As of 2 November 2015, property law in New South Wales has changed in relation to off-the-plan contracts, giving purchasers increased protection which make it harder for developers to enact sunset clauses to cancel contracts. This applies to all contracts for sale, even those already entered into.

A sunset clause is traditionally included in an off-the-plan contract in order to allow a buyer or developer to rescind if completion has been delayed. However, some developers have been using abusing these clauses, intentionally delaying a project in order to cancel existing contracts and then resell to new buyers at a higher price to reflect the current market. [...]  READ MORE →

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FWO flags review of abandonment clauses in Awards

The Fair Work Commission has indicated that it will conduct a review of abandonment clauses contained in six modern awards, following the decision of the Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission in Benias v Iplex Pipelines Australia Pty Ltd [2017] FWCFB 38.

In the decision, the Full Bench overturned the decision of Senior Deputy President O’Callaghan ([2016] FWC 6624), who dismissed an employee’s unfair dismissal claim on the basis that the termination was not at the initiative of the employer.

The facts

Section 386 of the Fair Work Act 2009 defines a dismissal as a termination of employment ‘on the employer’s initiative’. The Act provides that where an employee’s employment is not terminated on the employer’s initiative (i.e. a voluntary resignation), that employee is unable to pursue a remedy for Unfair Dismissal. [...]  READ MORE →

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Does your business supply on credit?

When a customer applies for a credit account it is critical that they are made aware of your Terms of Trade. The Terms will set out how credit is given, how goods are supplied to the customer, how payment is made and when title and ownership in those goods transfers to the customer. The terms should make it clear that title in goods will only transfer to the customer once the item has been fully paid for, this is called retention of title.

For more business, contract and commercial advice, contact our commercial lawyers at Matthews Folbigg. Our offices are located in Parramatta. [...]  READ MORE →

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Loaning money? Don’t rely on a handshake – you need a Loan Agreement

Whether you are making a loan of money for business or personal purposes it is important to document your agreement with the borrower. This should set out how much has been loaned, repayment procedure, interest payable and the length of the loan period.

If the loan is for a large amount of money, it may require a security or guarantee document to provide the lender with further protection.

Matthews Folbigg Lawyers in Parramatta can assist in drafting loan agreements and associated documentation. Contact our commercial law team for more information. [...]  READ MORE →