When a trades business adds crews, apprentices or a first supervisor, the work often changes faster than the paperwork. Someone hired to work on the tools may now allocate jobs, check completed work and support new starters. Their contract and role description need to reflect the arrangement you actually intend.
This guide gives owners a practical way to review employment documents as the team grows. Start with the roles, check the employment conditions, then organise a clear rollout.
Notice when the paperwork has fallen behind
Set aside time for a review when:
- A tradesperson takes on crew supervision, quoting or client coordination.
- An apprentice progresses, completes training or moves into a qualified role.
- You add different types of work, work locations or regular hours.
- Different versions of contracts are being used for similar jobs.
- Payroll, the roster and the employee’s documents describe different arrangements.
These are prompts to investigate. A new title or a signed template does not, by itself, confirm that someone’s classification or pay is correct.
Start with a one-page map of the work
For each role, ask the owner or supervisor and the employee to describe what happens in a normal week. Separate the tasks they perform from decisions they are authorised to make.
- Purpose: What is this role responsible for delivering?
- Core duties: Which trade, administrative or supervisory tasks are regularly performed?
- Reporting: Who allocates work, approves changes and handles concerns?
- Skills and requirements: What qualifications, licences, training or supervision does the work require?
- Working arrangements: Where is work performed, how are hours organised and what travel is involved?
For example, a crew leader’s description might explain responsibility for allocating the day’s work, checking progress and escalating delays. It should also clarify which decisions stay with the business owner. This is an illustrative role description, not a client case.
Check the employment conditions before issuing documents
An employment contract cannot provide less than the employee’s applicable minimum entitlements. The Fair Work Ombudsman’s contract guidance explains the relationship between contracts, the National Employment Standards and awards or enterprise agreements.
Check award or agreement coverage and the classification against the actual work, responsibilities and relevant skills. The Fair Work classification guidance notes that classifications can change when duties change or an employee gains relevant qualifications. Do not assume every employee in a trades business belongs under the same classification.
- Employment type: Does the document match the actual full-time, part-time or casual arrangement?
- Pay and hours: Have ordinary hours, overtime, penalties and any applicable allowances been checked?
- Trade-specific arrangements: Are relevant apprenticeship, travel, tools or other provisions accounted for?
- Role clarity: Do reporting lines, responsibilities and location arrangements match the proposed job?
- Consistency: Can the person managing payroll and the person supervising work follow the same agreed information?
A position description explains the role; it does not replace the employment contract or the applicable industrial instrument. Our employment contract guide covers the broader document structure.
Make the rollout as clear as the documents
Check whether proposed changes require agreement, consultation or other steps under the employee’s terms and the relevant award or agreement. The Fair Work consultation guide explains consultation requirements for matters such as major workplace change and changes to regular rosters or ordinary hours. Updating a role description is not a shortcut to changing employment conditions.
Use a simple register to track each employee, the document version, the changes to discuss, who will hold the conversation and what remains outstanding. Give employees time to ask questions, record agreed changes appropriately and supply their copy. Keep current documents securely and make sure payroll receives the information it needs.
After rollout, check that supervisors are working to the agreed responsibilities. Revisit the documents when the role changes again, rather than waiting for the next recruitment round.
Common questions from trades business owners
Can we use one contract for everyone?
A consistent base document can help, but the employment type, applicable conditions and individual arrangements still need checking. Copying a qualified tradesperson’s document for an apprentice or administrator can carry the wrong assumptions into the next hire.
Do we need to change every contract at once?
Start by identifying the gaps and prioritising the highest-risk inconsistencies. The right rollout depends on what you find. An existing pay or entitlement issue may need prompt advice and action, rather than waiting for a wider document project.
Can CCG manage the process?
Yes. We can scope a project to review documents, clarify roles and coordinate the agreed rollout. Hourly advice and ongoing outsourced HR support are also available.
Help your paperwork keep pace with your crews
Explore our HR support for trades businesses, or start with an HR Health Check to understand the gaps within an agreed scope. We support businesses typically employing 10–150 people and agree the scope and fee before work begins.
General employer guidance, reviewed 12 September 2026. The applicable conditions depend on the work and employment arrangements.