4 errors in contracts that ruin the work atmosphere

Legal gibberish instead of human words

Many firms in Perth still copy old contract templates that have 22 pages and are written in a language understood only by Supreme Court judges. I saw a case of a small workshop in Subiaco where a newly hired mechanic, Cameron, quit after 4 days because he was scared by a 14-page document full of Latin phrases and complicated conditional periods. The boy just wanted to know what time he finished work and how much he would get for overtime, and he received a legal treatise suggesting that for the smallest mistake he would lose his life's earnings.

At NeoMetrics, we have been fighting this approach for years, because clear rules of the game are the basis of trust. Since March 2018, we have helped 127 local entrepreneurs shorten their contracts from an average of 19 pages to just 6 concrete sheets. The result? Onboarding time was shortened by 3.2 hours, and new employees ask 47% fewer explanatory questions after signing the documents. People want to feel safe, and safety flows from understanding what they sign at the desk on Adelaide Terrace.

Remember that a contract is not just protection in case of court, but the first signal you send to your team. If the document is convoluted, the employee immediately thinks you want to cheat them. It's enough to replace phrases like 'hereby I declare that I have familiarized myself' with a simple 'I understand the rules'. This doesn't lower the legal rank of the document but builds a completely different work culture where we respect our time and intelligence.

Bad writing makes an employee feel from day one like they're in a trap, not in a new home.

Vague promises regarding bonuses

The second most common error is imprecise provisions about the bonus system, which we call 'promises written in water'. In 2024, we were approached by a trade company owner from Fremantle whose 12-person sales team was completely demotivated. The reason? In their contracts, they had a provision about a 'discretionary annual bonus depending on the company's results'. No one knew if it would be 500 dollars or 4,500, or what specific indicators it depended on. Because of this, people didn't know what to focus on, and their efficiency fell by 23.4% within one quarter.

Clear rules of the game require concrete numbers. If you promise a bonus, you must write that it will be paid, for example, after exceeding 118% of the assumed sales plan by the 15th day of the following month. This gives the employee a sense of agency. When we introduced hard calculations in that same company, employee turnover fell from 18% to zero in just 7 months. People stopped guessing and started simply working for their result because they knew the payout would hit the account without unnecessary discussions.

No fluff – no one likes to be kept in uncertainty regarding their earnings. If your contract contains phrases like 'depending on budget health', in the eyes of the employee, it sounds like 'I won't pay you if I don't feel like it'. At NeoMetrics, we teach that honest financial communication is the best way to retain talent in Perth, where competition for good specialists is huge.

Unrealistic non-compete clauses

We often encounter contracts that forbid employees from taking any work in the industry for 3 years across all of Western Australia. This is not only often legally unenforceable but, above all, extremely unfair. I had a case of a young interior designer, Isla, who was afraid to change jobs because her old contract had such a broad non-compete clause that theoretically she couldn't even advise a neighbor on paint color. Such provisions stifle the market and build a toxic atmosphere of fear.

Instead of copying standard clauses, it's worth considering what you actually want to protect. Is it your database of 87 key clients, or perhaps specific technology you've developed over the last 11 years? An effective contract is one that protects the company's interest but doesn't take away a person's right to practice their profession. We've seen situations where, after easing and clarifying these provisions, employee loyalty paradoxically increased because they felt the boss was treating them as partners, not slaves.

Simply human – if someone wants to leave, they will leave anyway. Holding them back with fear of court will only mean they'll sabotage your activities during their final months of work. It's better to rely on clear data protection rules and specific lists of clients who must not be poached. This is fair, measurable, and above all, defensible in court if necessary. Our statistics show that precise clauses are 68% less likely to be broken than general ones.

An effective contract protects the company but doesn't take away a person's right to live and work in their profession.

The 'Other assigned duties' loophole

This is a classic point that drives employees crazy. A clause in a contract saying that an employee must perform 'any other tasks assigned by the supervisor' is often abused. In one company on Murray St, an office assistant with 9 years of experience regularly finished work 2 hours later because she had to handle the boss's private matters, which were pulled under this very point. This ended in professional burnout and a sudden departure on sick leave, which cost the company 14,280 dollars in replacement costs alone.

Concrete numbers, not guesses – that's our rule. If a position requires flexibility, describe its scope. Instead of 'other duties', write about supporting the logistics department during peak season periods, which fall between November 12 and December 20. Such a statement is fair. The employee knows what they're signing up for, and you have the right to demand help in specific situations. This builds a culture of mutual help rather than exploitation hidden under a clever legal phrase.

At NeoMetrics, we believe that every minute of your team's work should have meaning and purpose. When people know exactly what they are responsible for, they work 17.3% more efficiently. They don't waste time wondering if their role will suddenly change by 180 degrees next Tuesday. Clear definition of roles is the foundation of peace in the company. If you need help arranging these descriptions, our team under the leadership of Lachlan Murray will answer your inquiry in an average of 2h 14min.