February, 2011

GET ME OUT OF THIS CONTRACT! INTERESTING TIMES IN PROPERTY

Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011

No-one’s got any money.  Sellers want too much.  Why is my bank taking 21 days to give me an approval?  Help me – I have signed an unconditional contract, but to get a cheaper price I didn’t make it subject to the sale of my other property which has now fallen over!  Hey, they’ve removed the dishwasher – isn’t that part of the contract?  What’s all this new stuff about pool compliance notices? There are loose floorboards in the verandah – can the buyer get out of it because of that?

These are some of the common issues that we are hearing from buyers, sellers and agents in the current market. 

As always, our clients’ contract problems are heavily influenced by the economy and the state of the market.  In the 2001-03 megaboom it was sellers trying to get out of contracts so that they could sell to someone else for more money.  In a tighter market like the current one, it is buyers’ circumstances causing them to want to get out.

The message is that it is crucial for buyers and sellers to ensure that their contracts are watertight.  A good commercial and property lawyer should approach a transaction from the point of view of protecting the client’s interests, but not being an obstruction.  After all, it should be recognised that both parties are keen for the transaction to go ahead.

Having said that, if someone wants to get out of a contract, if the written agreement is ambiguous or unclear, it can be a problem for the other party.  If a client wants out, commercial and property lawyers delight in sifting through badly drafted conditions in a contract and examining any loopholes that bad drafting can open up.  It may seem like minor or technical ambiguity or non-compliance with legal requirements, but it may be enough to be the basis for a termination, renegotiation or dispute. We don’t want this to happen to you!

We deal with these issues all the time, and if we get involved before the contract is signed, we can usually predict most potential problems and make sure that the fine print is properly prepared to protect you.  Quick turnaround is essential to keep the ball rolling.  Just pick up the phone (or make sure that your agent does so) before you sign any property contract!

Posted in Conveyancing & Property Development | Comments Off

Employment Law

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

Extreme Weather Conditions and Your Employees

The recent floods in Queensland and other areas have highlighted to many the importance of having clear and concise workplace policies dealing with extreme weather conditions, so as to prevent confusion as to who is entitled to what.

The table below provides a helpful summary of an employer’s position in certain situations:

Situation Your position as an employer Our recommendation
An employee is unable to attend work because of floods or another extreme weather condition. You must first consult any applicable award or employment/enterprise agreement.If there are no specific provisions in an applicable award or agreement, you may agree to the employee taking either paid or unpaid leave. Have a clause in your employment agreement which outlines your position in relation to paid or unpaid leave received during this period.
The workplace is in shutdown due to floods or extreme weather conditions You must first consult any applicable award or employment/enterprise agreement.When the workplace is shut down and employees are unable to be usefully employed for reasons completely out of the employer’s control, such as extreme weather conditions, the Fair Work Act makes provisions for employees to be stood down without pay. However, this will only apply if there are no specific provisions in an applicable award or employment /enterprise agreement. Have a clause in your employment agreement which outlines your position in relation to paid or unpaid leave received during this period.If possible, have your employees take part in other paid work, such as cleaning up the workplace (please note that this should be extended to those employees physically capable. Workplace health and safety requirements would continue to apply, and significant penalties can apply if these laws are breached).
An employee has asked for leave to care for their child because the school has closed down. The Fair Work Act provides that in an unexpected emergency, an employee is entitled to personal/carer’s leave for the care or support of a person in their immediate family or household, who requires care or support because of the unexpected emergency.An applicable award or employment/enterprise agreement may give an employer authority to request evidence of such an unexpected emergency. Check any applicable award, employment agreement, enterprise agreement or other instrument to see if specific provisions apply.
Are employees entitled to Community Service Leave to assist with emergency management operations? The Fair Work Act provides that employees who are registered with a recognised emergency management body may take a period of unpaid leave, for the purposes of assisting in an eligible community service activity.There is no minimum or maximum length of entitlement to leave, however it must be reasonable. There are several further requirements that an employee must meet before they are entitled to Community Service Leave.

More specific provisions may be contained in an applicable award or employment/enterprise agreement.

 Have a clause in your employment agreement which outlines the requirements for entitlement to Community Service Leave.

 

If you are concerned about your obligations as an employer, or any other employment law issue, please contact Tony Pattinson of our office.

Posted in Employment Law & Industrial Relations | Comments Off

State Migration Plans (SMP)

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011

 

It has been a long wait but all the SMP have now been released except NSW. As a result a large number of applicants have now been moved from priority group 3 to priority group 2. DIAC is now frantically trying to process and approve 23,000 group 2 applications before the end of June. For this reason we are seeing a lot of case officers being assigned to group 2 which is welcomed by all these applicants. However this means that group 3 applicants are currently not being processed with all hands on deck to process group 2 cases. Group 4 seems to have been forgotten and we are still waiting to see how the minister will deal with this large number of applications.

SMP release dates; http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/general-skilled-migration/state-plans.htm

Posted in Migration & Visas | Comments Off