VIC Employment Contract

[Stressed parent]

Hi,

I have a family member that signed an employment contract to become permanent with Kmart working Mon - Fri 7am-2pm.

The contract was signed over a week ago on the day it was offered and they were congratulated by managers and staff the same day and they were to commence on the 26th feb 24, they were approached today by the manager that they will be returned to a casual position as the permanent roster is over staffed.

They are very upset as to be expected.

I thought contracts were legally binding, apart from the usual employee standards that have to be met, there is no clause to state this can be done apart from the employee having 3 business days to accept as the offer can be withdrawn.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Rod]

I thought contracts were legally binding,

They are.

Kmart have done the wrong thing. Question is what to do about it. The family member has a good case against Kmart if they want to pursue it, or they just accept it and move on with life.

 

[CSFLW]

It is hard to comment on the way forward without seeing the pre-contract negotiations and the contract.

 

[Stressed parent]

My family member was offered the contract that day out of the blue and looking through the contract there is no clause that allows any variation to employment status that can be made by the company.

 

[Agberia]

Perhaps you can look up a professional Legal Solicitor on fiverr, to help you take a look and there might be a loophole in the contract you will be adviced to take advantage and sue Kmart

 

[Martis]

Ahhh employment contracts — the OG HR / FW spaghetti 😅 Everyone thinks it’s “just a piece of paper,” but in reality it’s where all the downstream headaches are seeded 👀 Pay, hours, leave, duties, post-termination clauses… suddenly everyone’s arguing over what “standard” even means.

Most disputes come from upstream fuzziness: vague role scopes, informal promises, or “we’ll sort that later” vibes. Once stuff hits Fair Work or internal audits, it’s like untangling spaghetti with a fork 😬

Low-key why structured recruitment + crystal-clear contracts matter. Platforms like AcademicJobs.com are actually clutch — formalised position descriptions, transparent contract templates, and compliance-aligned pipelines make sure everyone’s on the same page from day dot, especially in academia/research roles where multi-layered obligations and funding streams can get… messy 😅

Anyway, loving this thread — employment contract nuance rarely gets unpacked without turning into a law seminar 😂