COVID-19
Critical Covid Response Items for EVERY Business and Employer
Business Contracts and Leases
Key questions to ask yourself in an effort to reduce losses being suffered:
- can I use contractual and leasing force majeure provisions due to events beyond my reasonable control to cancel, suspend or renegotiate my contracts and leases?
- what happens if I don’t have a force majeure provision?
- can I use the “frustrated contracts” regime to my advantage?
- is Covid a “material adverse event” for contractual purposes?
- what time limits apply to exercise my rights and are there any mandatory procedural requirements I must follow to do so?
As the interaction between contractual wording, legal considerations, and the outcome sought are inherently fact specific, if you would like to discuss your options we invite you to contact a member of our Commercial Law Team on 9635 7966.
Staff
Does your contingency planning take into account these fundamental matters:
- can I force staff to take leave?
- can I stand down staff without pay?
- can a redundancy in response to Covid still amount to an unfair dismissal?
- what options do I have to reduce wages?
As this is the tip of the iceberg in terms of workplace considerations, and the answers to same require the application of relevant legislative, award, enterprise agreement, employment agreement and workplace policy provisions, we invite you to speak with our Employment Law Team on 9635 7966 to find a practical, commercially minded and lawful solution to your questions and concerns.
Estate Planning
Now more than ever do we need to focus on our wellbeing and that of our families. As part of this process you should review your current estate planning documents to ensure that you at least have your basic documents in order such as Wills and Powers of Attorney. You should ensure that these documents reflect your current wishes.
If you do not have a will, you should use this time at home as an opportunity to perform an assessment of your assets, debts and intentions so you can ensure that the people you care for are taken care of. Matthew Folbigg can assist in the drafting of wills and ensure you are adequately prepared during these highly uncertain times.
It may be even more important to have up-to-date powers of attorney in place, especially if you are part of the high risk demographic vulnerable to adverse outcomes from being infected with COVID-19, such as being over the age of 60 or having pre-existing medical conditions. A power of attorney for property allows the individual you appoint as your attorney to manage and administer your finances and personal property when you cannot do so yourself, for instance, if you are in self-isolation or quarantine.
Please feel free to contact our Estate planning team for any advice or help regarding these issues.
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DISCLAIMER: This article is provided to clients and readers for their general information and on a complimentary basis. It contains a brief summary only and should not be relied upon or used as a definitive or complete statement of the relevant law.
