If you’re an Australian employer then you have a range of obligations with respect to paid holidays and leave. Understanding these obligations is crucial if you want to run a successful business without placing yourself at risk, and the best way to do this is to speak with a commercial lawyer, such as Rowe Bristol, with experience in the industry.

As you can imagine, parental leave is something that pops up quite regularly. Unfortunately, a lot of employers don’t understand what their obligations are with respect to parental leave in Australia.

With this in mind, I’ve outlined the main parental leave laws in Australia to help you understand what you need to be doing:

What is paid parental leave?

Basically, paid parental leave involves a new mother or father being granted some time away from work to look after a new child. Usually, this happens in the days immediately after birth, and the length of time it goes for varies according to individual situations.

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There are a lot of situations that require the services of a decent commercial lawyer. If you’re starting a business, redeveloping your business structure, signing a new lease, or doing almost anything else related to running your business, then you might need to think about the relevant commercial laws.

Although will be able to safely and legally do most things on your own, it’s often worth employing a commercial lawyer to make sure that you’re not missing anything. However, it can be hard to find a decent commercial lawyer who is both affordable and knowledgeable.

With this in mind, we’ve put together a list of the top 5 things you should think about when choosing a new commercial lawyer. They include:

1. Their specializations

This should be relatively self-explanatory, but it’s worth touching on. Not all commercial lawyers are the same, and not all commercial lawyers have the same skills and experience.

It’s very important to find one who has experience and training dealing with the field that you’re in. For example, if you’re running an online business, find a lawyer who understands online business structures and reporting requirements. Likewise, if you’re trying to break a commercial lease, find a lawyer with experience here.

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Starting a new business in Australia involves a lot of legal paperwork. Health and safety is a major consideration for every business, but even more so for those who work with chemicals, outdoors, with machinery, or in otherwise high risk environments.

I’d always recommend hiring a commercial lawyer to help you understand your health and safety requirements before you start a new business. Failing to do so can leave you open to prosecution and a large range of penalties.

With this in mind, here are a few important workplace health and safety considerations that you have to be aware of when starting a new business in Australia:

Understand That Every Industry Has Different Laws

Unfortunately, Australia’s health and safety laws vary according to industry. Different types of business will have significantly different health and safety rules to others, and it’s important to be aware of those which govern your industry.

Again, I’d recommend speaking about this with your local commercial lawyer. They should be able to advise you on the most important laws that you have to stick to. Alternatively, get in touch with Safe Work Australia to find out more.

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When you’re signing a new commercial lease it’s important to try and find the right balance between a long enough lease to let your get your business up and running and a short enough lease to be able to cover the costs if your business fails.

However, this isn’t always easy. Many landlords will want you to sign a long-term lease that’s at least 5 years, and they might try and pressure you into this. It’s important to make sure that you don’t let yourself be pressured in situations like this, otherwise you might regret it later. Make sure that you employ the services of a decent property lawyer to help you negotiate your lease, and make sure that you’re clear on the fine print.

Ultimately, there are a few things you should take into account when deciding how long to sign a commercial lease for. We’ve outlined some of the most important below.

Consider Your Business Vision

It doesn’t matter how long your business has existed for, or even if it’s brand new. If you’re serious about building it and expanding your services in the future, you need to take this into account.

If your business does grow, you might end up wanting to relocate to larger premises at some point. This can be hard if you’re locked into a long-term lease.

Work closely with your commercial lawyer to negotiate a lease that either: (1) only lasts for a short time or (2) gives you an exit clause if you need to find larger premises.

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If you’ve had problems with your business that are covered by your business insurance, then you will need to make a claim. Unfortunately, small business insurance claims aren’t always simple, and insurance companies will often do everything in their power to avoid paying up.

It’s usually a good idea to hire an experienced commercial lawyer to help you put together complicated claims. However, there are a few other things that you can do to help maximise the chances of your claim being approved, including:

1. Make Sure You Use A Good Lawyer

It’s absolutely essential to make sure that your company lawyer has experience in business insurance claims. If they don’t, then you might find that they aren’t able to maximise your chances of winning your claim.

I’d recommend doing your research carefully before hiring any lawyer. Make sure that they have a good reputation and a strong track record dealing with insurance claims.

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