Employment Essentials for Utilities and Environmental Businesses

In Short

• Employment agreements must clearly outline expectations, including pay and work hours.
• Flexible working arrangements should be offered where practical.
• Employers must take reasonable steps to manage workplace health and safety risks.

Tips for Businesses

To ensure compliance, draft clear employment agreements and offer flexibility where possible. Make sure workplace health and safety procedures are in place, particularly in high-risk sectors like utilities and environmental industries. Regularly review your processes to minimise risks and protect your employees.

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Table of Contents

• Employment Agreements
• Hours
• Flexible Work Arrangements
• Workplace Health and Safety
• Key Takeaways
• Frequently Asked Questions

Running a utilities or environmental business will require managing a team of employees with differing skill sets and abilities. However, no matter what employees you hire, you must know the employment law governing the relationship between you and your workers. This article will take you through employment essentials such as the importance of employment agreements, what hours you can require your employees to work, the flexible working arrangements your employees are entitled to, and how you can manage the workplace health and safety obligations you owe to your employees.

Employment Agreements

Employment agreements spell out what you and your employees expect from one another. They are contracts, so anything you agree on is legally enforceable. For this reason, you must get your employment agreements right. Here are some things you can do to make sure your employment agreements are as protective as possible:

• written employment agreements allow you to see precisely what you have agreed on. This means employees know exactly what you expect of them and that you have something to refer to if there is a dispute;
• make your expectations of your employees clear;
• include essential details in the agreement, such as pay and hours of work; and
• do not make promises in your employment agreements that you cannot keep.

Hours

Employees can work a maximum of 38 hours per week, including authorised leave.

If you request your employees to work more than the hours you agreed to, you must ensure these hours are reasonable. There are a few factors that determine whether extra hours can be considered reasonable:

• the personal circumstances of the employee, including whether or not they have children or family commitments that would prevent them from working more;
• the risk posed to the employee’s health and safety by imposing additional hours and work. Employees involved in physical work, such as setting up solar panels, may be in danger of injury if you make them work extra;
• whether or not requiring the employee to work extra will be important enough or necessary enough to your business needs;
• whether you have let your employees know in advance that you might need them to work extra and whether your employees have told you previously that they cannot;
• the employee’s role and responsibilities;
• are extra hours standard across the industry for people in the same role as your employee?;
• are the extra hours consistent with what you have agreed on in your employee agreement?; and
• will your employee receive overtime pay?

Flexible Work Arrangements

Since COVID, more and more employees expect flexible working arrangements to be available in the workplace. Flexible working arrangements may involve providing your employee with flexible hours for childcare reasons, making work-from-home arrangements, or allowing employees to work at different locations than usual. Your employees may be entitled to flexible working arrangements for several reasons, including:

• pregnancy;
• parental/carer responsibilities;
• disability;
• age; and
• family/domestic violence.

Workplace Health and Safety

You must take all reasonably practicable steps to minimise the risks to your employees’ health and safety in the workplace. It may be impossible to completely eliminate the risk of harm and injury in the utilities and environmental industry. Workers often will have to deal with electricity grids, work in hazardous locations such as on roofs, and work with equipment or tools that have the potential to cause injury. As their employer, it is up to you to take reasonable steps to minimise the risks posed by the job and formulate plans to manage workplace health and safety incidents when they arise. Some ways to manage these risks include:

• proper signposting of hazardous areas;
• regular equipment checks and maintenance;
• regular WHS and safety training for workers and management in your business;
• provide employees with high-visibility safety gear and appropriate clothing for their roles;
• make sure employees take regular breaks to prevent injury and strain; and
• formulate action plans that address potential incidents that may arise well in advance.

Employment Essentials Factsheet

As an employer, understand your essential employment obligations with this free LegalVision factsheet.

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Key Takeaways

As an employer in the utilities and environmental sector, you have certain legal obligations to your employees: 

• a thoroughly drafted employment agreement ensures you and your employees know what to expect from each other;
• you must only require your employees to work overtime when necessary;
• some employees are entitled to flexible working arrangements where practical; and
• you must manage workplace health and safety risks properly.

If you need help with your obligations as an employer in the utilities and environmental space, our experienced employment lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 1300 544 755 or visit our membership page.

Frequently Asked Questions