Part B: Extended response question: Letter to a lawyer (15 marks)
ScenarioMark and Marco are brothers who run an Italian restaurant named Italian Brothers in Springville. They have been running this business since 1981 in a partnership arrangement. Mark has a Chef’s certificate and is the head chef of Italian Brothers and Marco look after the customers.
Niko is a TAFE student who is studying to be a Chef. Niko has been working for the two brothers for three years on a causal basis. He does not have a regular work pattern. At busy times he may be called to work for up to twenty days per month and at other times he may be called to work only up to 2-4 days in the month.
Niko had always been a very good worker and he is always keen to learn everything about the restaurant business. In fact Mark has seen him write down a lot of his favourite recipes which had been handed down by his mother. These are the dishes that keep the customers coming back to the restaurant. On few occasions Niko even asked whether he can cook for the evening rush and under Mark’s strict supervision Niko was allowed to cook for the customers.
Niko’s job include serving customers and helping in the kitchen when required. For Niko’s work Mark and Marco always pay cash in hand at the end of each day and no superannuation is given.
Everything was running smoothly until a week ago when Niko burned his hands while washing the dishes. Someone had left the hot water to the maximum and without realising Niko turned it on and got a bad burn. Niko got some first aid care and because it was busy Friday night he had to return to work after an hour and a half break. While serving a fussy customer Niko lost his temper and shouted at the customer. Later Niko apologised and explained to the customer the reason for losing his temper.
Niko will soon finish his TAFE course and become a Chef. Mark and Marco both have heard from a friend that Niko is planning to purchase the Chinese restaurant named Shanghai in the Springville area and turn it into an Italian restaurant where he will be the head Chef. The brothers became worried. They do not want Niko to take away any of their regular customers or know the secrets of their recipes.
Mark and Marco both decided that they should not give Niko any more work. Before stopping Niko’s work Mark suggested that they should check with a lawyer if there will be any problems if they stop giving Niko work without notice. The brothers are a bit worried as Niko has a history of taking his employer to court for unfair dismissal and they don’t want any trouble of this kind.
You are the office manager for Italian Brothers. Mark and Marco want you to work out the best course of action for Italian Brothers to take, within the law, in dealing with Niko and then to ‘run it past a lawyer’. Write a letter to a lawyer practising in a suitable area of law along with the following lines:
- Introduce yourself;
- Explain the fact situation (the legally relevant facts);
- Explain what Italian Brothers wants to do and how you think Italian Brothers is entitled to act, within the law (ie, the course of action you have worked out is the best one for Italian Brothers); and
- ask the lawyer for advice about the legality of your plans and about any other legal concerns you have arising from these facts.
Notes/advice:For the purposes of this letter you may invent the name of a lawyer or firm, ideally one that indicates the invented lawyer or firm is practising in the right area of law for this problem.
Referencing: Wherever you have taken an idea from another source, reference the source in a footnote to show support for the points you are making, and also to demonstrate the amount of research you have done.
Any direct quotes (words that are copied from another source and are not your own words) must be marked with quote marks, and the source must be referenced in a footnote.
Do not use endnotes for this assignment, only footnotes.
Citation style: Harvard style as per the Business School style requirements is acceptable for this assignment. However, if you are including references to cases or legislation, please use the following styles (the Acts and cases themselves are not necessarily relevant, they are only examples – note where the italics are and also the spacing and absence of punctuation):
Legislation:
Copyright Act 1968 (Cth) s 36
Case:
Grant v Commissioner of Patents XXXXXXXXXXFCR 62; [2006] FCAFC 120
Some suitable research references/sources to get you started: - (Prescribed text) James, N 2011, Business law, 2nd edn, John Wiley & Sons.
- Online Modules on vUWS.
- Gibson, A & Fraser, D 2011, Business law, 5th edn, Pearson.
- Turner, CF 2010, Australian commercial law, 28th edn, Thomson Reuters.
- Government websites such as, e.g., www.business.gov.au; www.ipaustralia.gov.au
- Other internet resources may be used, provided they are reliable and reputable. Take care that internet sources are on Australian law.
- Other recent textbooks on Business Law (consult the Library catalogue).
Suggested format for the letter is over the page... the parts in square brackets are guides to what you should put where - overwrite these words and brackets with your own content.
Italian Brothers Pty Ltd
1 Franklin Place
Springville, NSW- 1250
Our reference: **** (invent a file number)
[DATE]
[ADDRESSEE - the lawyer]
[ADDRESS]
[ADDRESS]
[GREETING / SALUTATION - Dear ***]
RE: **********[CONTENT — USE PARAGRAPHS & FULL SENTENCES]
Yours sincerely,
[SIGNATURE]
[NAME]
The Office Manager