About the Employment Agreement Template for Law Firms (Legal Services Award) Paralegal | Law Graduate | Law Clerk | Administrative

Hiring the right people is essential for every law firm. This Employment Agreement Template for Law Firms is designed specifically for Australian legal practices employing law clerks, paralegals, graduates (not yet admitted) and administrative staff.

Unlike admitted solicitors, who are award-free, these roles fall under the Legal Services Award, which sets out important minimum entitlements. This ready-to-use template helps you stay compliant while making the hiring process simple and professional.

[NOTE - Lawyers and professional staff will require a separate employment agreement - contact us if you have questions on bossteam@readytobosslegal.com]

What this template covers:

• Suitable for permanent full-time, part-time, and casual employees, you choose the option as you are completing our schedule attached to the agreement with the employee details;

• Drafted by a lawyer with 25 years experience to comply with the Legal Services Award and National Employment Standards (NES);

• Covers superannuation, salary inclusions/exclusions, and annual salary reviews;

• Flexible for remote, in-office, or hybrid work arrangements;

• Includes optional post-employment restraint clauses to protect your business;

• Provides for performance reviews, probation periods, and termination notice in line with the NES;

• Allows for customisation with easy to complete special conditions, including annualised salary, study leave or varied hours;

• Includes a detailed AI use clause, ensuring staff handle AI responsibly while protecting confidentiality and quality standards to give you peace of mind as a law firm owner;

• Covers employer-owned and employee-owned equipment, and rules for work expenses and

• Drafted for law firm operations but flexible enough to suit small, medium, or larger practices

Why choose this template

Our templates are easy to use and customise, and designed by Ready to Boss Legal, trusted legal publishers for small businesses and professional practices

This template gives your firm a strong legal foundation when employing staff, whether on a casual basis or in a permanent role.

How to use this template

• “save as” the original template to make a copy and keep the original template for reference or to use again (noting you can use it again subject to the passage of time).

• Remove the front page;

• Complete the relevant information in red text in the schedule and the execution clauses.

• It is important to get the superannuation calculations right – where it is inclusive, this should be stated, where it is exclusive (ie paid on top) this should also be noted.

• This template contemplates annual salary review; however this can be adapted as appropriate.

• The template providers for remote work, in office work or hybrid work and can be used for one of these types of work or a combination of all three.

• Thought will need to be given to post employment restraints and whether they are included. If required, they are in the document, but thought will need to be given to restraint areas and restraint periods that are reasonable and don’t stop the employee from earning a living if they were to leave your employment.

• The template can be personalised further by adding any special conditions (such as where the employee is provided a percentage of billings as a bonus/ incentive); and

• Note this is a general template drafted for Australian laws.

If you have questions, please get in touch with us at bossteam@readytobosslegal.com. If you are unsure of any legal issues, you should seek advice from the Fair Work Ombudsman and/ or an employment lawyer before proceeding further.

 Disclaimer

Ready to Boss Legal is a legal publisher. We are not a law firm and you acknowledge that by purchasing, downloading and customising this template, Ready to Boss Legal is not acting as your lawyer or providing you with legal advice.

 This template is legal information only and should not substitute for or constitute professional legal advice. We recommend you consult with a lawyer for legal advice, noting Ready to Boss Legal is a legal publisher and not a law firm.

 All copyright in this document belongs exclusively to Ready to Boss Legal. We grant you a one use non-exclusive, royalty-free, revocable license to use this document for the purposes of using it in your business or for personal use. However, this document may not be copied, given to a third party, re-sold, reproduced, transmitted electronically or otherwise used in any way in whole or in part for the purpose of commercial gain by you for any purpose that may amount to competition with Ready to Boss Legal.