Sarah is an employee of CoffeePlanet Roasters Pty Ltd (CoffeePlanet) which is a Small and Medium-Size Enterprise
Question:
Sarah is an employee of CoffeePlanet Roasters Pty Ltd (CoffeePlanet) which is a Small and Medium-Size Enterprise (SME) established in 2015 in East Perth, Western Australia. The company brews and roasts the best premium and high-quality coffee imported from top producers in Brazil and Ethiopia.
Sarah is 25 and has been an employee of CoffePlanet for the past 5 (five) years. She works as an operation manager at the company.
Up until recently, Sarah really enjoyed her work at CoffeePlanet, but lately, she has had few issues with her work. On 15 August 2022, Sarah received an email from the HR manager of CoffePlanet. The email read as follows:
Dear Valued Employee, To make sure employees remain productive while working and the work is effectively carried out, the management of CoffeePlanet has decided to implement an Internet Usage Policy that every employee must agree to. You must make sure that you only use company's internet connection to finish job duties and seek out information from the internet to improve your work. You are required to contact the HR Department and sign the Internet Usage Policy no later than 24 December 2022. Any employee who decides not to do so may face administrative action by CoffeePlanet and their employment may be terminated if they cannot provide valid reasons for not signing the Policy. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact me. Kind regards, Matthew (Matt) Miller HR Manager
Sarah was very concerned with the email she received from the HR Manager for two reasons. First, she is not sure if it is appropriate for her employer to make her sign an Internet Usage Policy. Second, she is concerned that if she signs the Policy, she will not be able to access at work her favourite social media accounts mainly Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Sarah had recently met over lunch with Brandon Thomas, a former employee of CoffeePlanet working for Raw Coffee Perth, and informed him that an employee of CofeePlanet has invented an eco-friendly coffee cup (SuperGreen Cup), and the management are keen to commercialise and sell their new product in Australia. Sarah has shown Brandon the actual drawings of the invention during the meeting and asked him to keep copies for himself. Sarah was also surprised to know form Brendon that their competitor in business (Raw Coffee Perth) is working with a Melbourne production company to manufacture a compostable plastic and reusable coffee cups for their business. Given the recent email and the unofficial meeting with the former employee Brandon, Sarah has started to think seriously about resigning from her current job and working for another company in Perth. However, when she looked at her contract, she saw a clause in her employment contract that she did not read before very carefully. It read:
Clause 20. Post-Employment Restraint: A. Upon the termination of the employment relationship between the Employer and the Employee (howsoever that termination may be arise or be caused), the Employee shall not work for any person or organisation or compete with the business within a 150 km radius of Perth metropolitan area for one (1) year period after the termination of their contract of employment. B. For the purposes of this clause, competition is defined as soliciting or accepting employment by, or rendering professional services to, any person or organisation that is or was a client of CoffeePlanet during the term of employment
Sarah is, however, concerned with clause 20 of her employment contract. She fears that if she were to resign from her current job, she would be unable to work in Perth for one (1) year with any other competitor in business with CoffeePlanet.
EXPLAIN THE LAW AND THEN IN THE APPLICATION LINK THE LAW TO THE SCENARIO.
Management Accounting
ISBN: 9780730369387
4th Edition
Authors: Leslie G. Eldenburg, Albie Brooks, Judy Oliver, Gillian Vesty, Rodney Dormer, Vijaya Murthy, Nick Pawsey