Businesses involved in take-overs and mergers need to ensure they receive full employee records or risk costly battles with staff, says a Gold Coast solicitor.

Hickey Lawyers senior associate Nicole Campbell, who specialises in Work Choices, said companies needed to ensure they were aware of staff agreements from the outset.

“Lots of mergers and take-overs are happening on the Gold Coast, yet few businesses involved realise the type of information they need to acquire at settlement,” she said.

“While not having this information does not appear to pose an identifiable problem from the outset, not having it can lead to major issues down the track.

“Companies need to know their new employees’ current terms and conditions, along with historical information, such as the accrual of annual leave.

“If they do not have this data, they risk costly employee disputes or problems if audited.

“This was not such an issue under the old system, but under new Work Choices laws, businesses are obliged to have full records of their employees’ agreement terms, accruals and other details of their employment.”

Ms Campbell said under the new legislation, employers also needed to deliver certain notices to employees after a take-over or merger.

“There is a limited period of time to supply this information, which includes providing specific details on employees’ terms and conditions,” she said.

“To do this properly, employers need to know not only what awards and agreements apply to each employee, but how they are affected by Work Choices.

“Having this information also makes any negotiations after a merger or take-over much friendlier, because the employer can offer alternatives accordingly.”

Ms Campbell said employers needed to remember that employees’ continuity of service was preserved after a merger or take-over.

“Companies need to know what staff are entitled to under this continuity of service; having blank information would be a disaster,” she said.
“If they do not get full records at the time of settlement, they are not going to be able to get them later and, in the event of a dispute, the employer is at the mercy of the employee.

“It also works both ways; employees may be dissatisfied with their previous conditions and prefer to decide on new agreements.

“Companies really do need to be proactive from the outset and deal with the issue on a volume level, rather than getting involved in individual disputes down the track.”

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