Signing documents at work

Most likely there’ll be a few documents you’ll have to sign when you start a new job or at other times when you’re working. Ever heard that saying ‘signing your life away’? It might not be quite that serious but when you sign your name to something it is a big deal because it’s put on the record and could be used in court.

Contracts are between you and your employer or training provider, are legally binding, and usually outline your rights and responsibilities.

The types of contracts you might have to sign include:

An AWA is a legal document between you and your employer that tells you how much you’ll get paid and what your employment conditions are, e.g. how long you get for lunch. It’s lodged with the Office of the Employment Advocate (OEA).

A CWA is like an AWA but it covers more than one employee in a workplace.

An employment contract is also known as a Common Law Contract, similar to an AWA, but it’s a private agreement between you and your employer so it doesn’t have to be lodged with the OEA.

You’ll be asked to sign a Contract of Training if you start an apprenticeship or traineeship. It has to be registered with the Office of Training and Tertiary Education (OTTE) and lists the legal obligations and training requirements that apply to both you and your employer.

Documents are legal statements you might be asked to sign at work. But unlike contracts, documents aren’t necessarily agreements between you and somebody else, they are statements that become official when you put your name to them.

Documents you might have to sign at work include:

• Incident Report (if there’s an accident at your workplace)
• Confidentiality Form (you agree that some of the information you will deal with in your job can't be shared with people outside the organisation)
• Release Form (so you can be photographed or filmed and your image can be published or broadcast)

Here are some things you should remember when signing your name to anything:

• Read it all, even the small print. If need be, ask for more time to read it.
• If you don’t understand something, get it explained to you before you sign it.
• Make sure any mistakes are corrected before you sign it.
• Make your own changes to the document, if necessary, before you sign it.
• Never sign a blank or incomplete contract (you might be asked to do this and your employer will say they will ‘fill in the details later’. Don’t let them do this!).
• Get a copy of the signed document to keep for your own records.

For more information on what should and shouldn’t be included in your contract (or on what you do and don’t have to sign!) contact:

• Office of the Workplace Rights Advocate on 1300 882 648
• Job Watch on 03 9662 1933 (if you’re in Melbourne) or 1800 331 617 (if you’re outside Melbourne)