How we can help
Negotiating a contract can seem daunting, particularly if it is your first job as a working optometrist. However, even people who have been working for some time can still have issues, questions or concerns about the process. Members employing new staff may have questions about the contract process.
Optometrists Association Victoria is able to help both employers and employees by providing general advice on such matters as:
-
Whether the contract includes all the necessary information
-
Whether the terms and conditions conform to national legislative requirements, such as those set out in the Fair Work Act and the National Employment Standards
-
Whether the terms and conditions offered, including salaries, are generally on par with comparable positions across the profession.
Please call on (03) 9652 9100, or email our office, for more information or to arrange a time to discuss contract or related employment matters.
Contracts at a glance
What should be in an employment contract/agreement?
The contract is the basis of an employment arrangement, and is a legal document, which guarantees what both employers and employees can expect, and protects both parties in the advent of any dispute.
Both employees and employers are bound by contracts, and should therefore take the responsibility to make sure they are:
(a) comprehensive
(b) comprehensible and
(c) legal.
It is in the interest of both parties to make sure that the terms, conditions, requirements and remuneration and benefits are clearly set out, unambigous and that both parties understand what is being agreed to.
You should not sign or offer a contract without:
Once signed, both employers and employees should consider themselves bound by the document.
The following are some of the minimum elements we recommend should be included in any employment contract.
-
A start date
-
Hours of work, including any requirements to work weekends, nights or public holidays
-
Place of work
-
Duration of the contract
-
Money matters
-
Rates of pay, and how/when you will be paid (e.g. fortnightly by EFT)
-
If there is a bonus scheme, details of performance criteria, and when/how payments are to be made, should ideally be included.
-
Superannuation
Other matters which we recommend should be included
-
Additional benefits: course fees, relocation or travel expenses
-
Additional options such as salary packaging
-
Arrangements for overtime or time in lieu
-
Probationary periods
-
Restraint clauses
What is a restraint clause?
A restraint clause is a common element in optometry contracts. It essentially seeks to protect the commercial interests of an employer by limiting an employee’s capacity to work within a specific area for a specific time, once the employee has left the employer.
An example might be, that if there are two optometry practices close by in the same town or shopping centre, an employee would be limited from leaving one employer and immediately taking up a position with a competitor.
Restraint clauses are not illegal, and they do protect the interests of employers. They often combine geographical limitations within specified periods of time. A common one might be a clause by which the employee will not work for another optometrist within a 5 km radius for a period of up to 12 months after terminating the contract.
However, before you sign any contract, you should be sure you are happy with the terms of any restraint clauses, and that you consider them reasonable.
For example, a restraint on work in the same locality or shopping centre for 12 months after having left an employer might be reaonable. A clause that prevented a person from working in the same State, region or metropolitan area would probably be unreasonable.
As a former employee, am I bound to the restraint clause?
If you have signed a contract with a restraint clause, you should consider yourself absolutely bound by this, and your former employer would be within their rights to pursue action against you were you to breach this clause. In this, as in all other matters related to contracts, you should observe the following golden rules:
-
Don’t sign what you don’t understand.
-
Don’t sign what you don’t feel comfortable with.
-
Know your rights, and negotiate for what you really want.
How we can help
Negotiating a contract can seem daunting, particularly if it is your first job as a working optometrist. However, even people who have been working for some time can still have issues, questions or concerns about the process. Members employing new staff may have questions about the contract process.
Optometrists Association Victoria is able to help both employers and employees by providing general advice on such matters as:
-
Whether the contract includes all the necessary information
-
Whether the terms and conditions conform to national legislative requirements, such as those set out in the Fair Work Act and the National Employment Standards
-
Whether the terms and conditions offered, including salaries, are generally on par with comparable positions across the profession.
Please call on (03) 9652 9100, or email our office, for more information or to arrange a time to discuss contract or related employment matters.
Contracts at a glance
What should be in an employment contract/agreement?
The contract is the basis of an employment arrangement, and is a legal document, which guarantees what both employers and employees can expect, and protects both parties in the advent of any dispute.
Both employees and employers are bound by contracts, and should therefore take the responsibility to make sure they are:
(a) comprehensive
(b) comprehensible and
(c) legal.
It is in the interest of both parties to make sure that the terms, conditions, requirements and remuneration and benefits are clearly set out, unambigous and that both parties understand what is being agreed to.
You should not sign or offer a contract without:
Once signed, both employers and employees should consider themselves bound by the document.
The following are some of the minimum elements we recommend should be included in any employment contract.
-
A start date
-
Hours of work, including any requirements to work weekends, nights or public holidays
-
Place of work
-
Duration of the contract
-
Money matters
-
Rates of pay, and how/when you will be paid (e.g. fortnightly by EFT)
-
If there is a bonus scheme, details of performance criteria, and when/how payments are to be made, should ideally be included.
-
Superannuation
Other matters which we recommend should be included
-
Additional benefits: course fees, relocation or travel expenses
-
Additional options such as salary packaging
-
Arrangements for overtime or time in lieu
-
Probationary periods
-
Restraint clauses
What is a restraint clause?
A restraint clause is a common element in optometry contracts. It essentially seeks to protect the commercial interests of an employer by limiting an employee’s capacity to work within a specific area for a specific time, once the employee has left the employer.
An example might be, that if there are two optometry practices close by in the same town or shopping centre, an employee would be limited from leaving one employer and immediately taking up a position with a competitor.
Restraint clauses are not illegal, and they do protect the interests of employers. They often combine geographical limitations within specified periods of time. A common one might be a clause by which the employee will not work for another optometrist within a 5 km radius for a period of up to 12 months after terminating the contract.
However, before you sign any contract, you should be sure you are happy with the terms of any restraint clauses, and that you consider them reasonable.
For example, a restraint on work in the same locality or shopping centre for 12 months after having left an employer might be reaonable. A clause that prevented a person from working in the same State, region or metropolitan area would probably be unreasonable.
As a former employee, am I bound to the restraint clause?
If you have signed a contract with a restraint clause, you should consider yourself absolutely bound by this, and your former employer would be within their rights to pursue action against you were you to breach this clause. In this, as in all other matters related to contracts, you should observe the following golden rules:
-
Don’t sign what you don’t understand.
-
Don’t sign what you don’t feel comfortable with.
-
Know your rights, and negotiate for what you really want.