Can employer set a period of notice of resignation as 3 months?

Question

At renewal of my contract, my employee increased the notice of termination period from 1 month to 3 months.

I do not want to agree with this term, because if I will find a new job a new employer will not wait for 3 months!

In Australia, usually employer requires its employee to give the employer '1 month notice' for resignation.
(if payment cycle is fortnight, notice may be 2 weeks.)

I found that there are some laws and regulations which say that employer must give a certain minimum period of notice to its employee. However there are no such regulations that restrict employer to demand excessive period of notice from employee.

I might have missed some information, but anyone know about this?

Answer 1

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In the US, the employer can set just about any terms they want as long as they write it out in the employment contract and I'm guessing Australia is similar. Most employers here do not require any notice at all, but I've seen some that require a two-year contract (with no chance of giving notice to leave). I've also seen a bunch of them that specify that, even after you leave the job, you agree to not work for any of their competitors for 5-10 years!

Perhaps, your employer would be willing to negotiate on the terms?

Answer 2

It doesn't sound right to me, check it out with maybe a lawyer or the Industrial Relations office. The period of notice should mirror the payment cycle for many companies, either two weeks or a month - never heard of three months.

Answer 3

Ring your local member for Australia government. It's my understanding that individual contacts are a no no now that Rudd is PM.