Employer Policies and Procedures: When are they Contractually Binding?

By Ross Jackson and Bruce Moore

Employers expect employees to comply with workplace policies - including those relating to harassment, safety, conflicts of interest and grievance procedures - and such matter should be addressed in employment contracts.

Courts expect employers to be contractually bound to follow those policies just as employees are. Employers then need to be very clear about the legal effect they expect such policies to have. A recent Federal Court decision found that an employer breached an employees contract of employment by failing to meet the obligations set out in a 119 page policy document. Key issues include the distinction in law between broad aspirational statements in such documents and clear statements of procedural matters.

Nikolich v Goldman Sachs JB Were Services Pty Ltd [2006] FCA 784

(LexisNexis Butterworths Employment Law Bulletin vol. 12, no 5)