Hire a friend or family member with clear expectations

Before hiring someone you know, have the conversation you would have with an unfamiliar applicant: what work needs doing, what evidence shows they can do it, who supervises them and what the proposed terms are. Then discuss the extra expectations that come with your relationship. Familiarity can make those expectations harder to notice, so write them down.

This guide is for the role and relationship discussion. Use the first-hire checklist for the separate employment setup and checks; this page does not classify a family arrangement or set anyone's entitlements.

Decide whether the role fits before making the invitation

A fictional owner, Leena, needs someone to coordinate customer bookings. Her cousin Ravi is looking for work. He is reliable in family commitments, but she has not seen him manage a changing schedule or explain a delay to a customer.

Leena prepares a job description and asks Ravi for relevant examples. She identifies training she can provide and responsibilities she cannot leave unsupervised. The Interview and recruit employees provides a useful selection sequence even when the applicant is already familiar.

If Ravi's skills fit a different role, discuss that openly. Do not create an undefined position and hope the duties will sort themselves out once he starts. If there are other applicants, use the same essential criteria and record the evidence for the decision.

Draw the two relationships separately

Relationship	Who does what	Boundary to agree
Family: Leena ↔ Ravi	They are cousins outside work.	Family gatherings are not the place to discuss colleagues or performance.
Work direction: operations manager → Ravi	The manager allocates bookings work and gives routine feedback.	Ravi brings competing instructions to the manager instead of quietly choosing a relative's request.
Business approval: Leena → manager	Leena approves the role budget and proposed employment arrangements.	Pay decisions follow the business process; family promises are checked before anyone relies on them.
Confidential records: authorised staff only	Access follows the work each person needs to do.	Being related to the owner does not give automatic access to payroll or customer files.

Original ASBG worksheet. Names, situations and figures are fictional; the readable table is the text equivalent.

Talk through a specific disagreement. If Leena asks Ravi to interrupt a booking deadline for another task, who confirms the priority? Agree who resolves that conflict before it happens during a busy shift.

Put expectations into a short meeting agenda

Discuss the normal week, decision limits, training, who checks work and how to raise a concern. Ask each person what they think the arrangement means. One may expect a permanent role; the other may be thinking of temporary help. Resolve that difference before making commitments.

Set a regular work conversation for feedback and give it the same privacy as anyone else's. Agree a route for concerns about the supervisor, particularly where the owner is also a relative. Avoid promising that employment disagreements will stay "within the family".

Have the proposed terms checked properly

Ask the appropriate adviser to check the arrangement, applicable employment system, classification and terms. Personal agreement should not be used to skip those checks. Fair Work National Employment Standards explains that contracts cannot exclude the National Employment Standards for employees covered by the national system.

Keep gifts, family loans and business pay decisions clearly documented through the appropriate advice and records. This guide does not determine their tax or employment treatment. Give the person time to consider the job and room to decline without pressure from the relationship.

Key takeaways

• Use role evidence even when you already trust the applicant personally.
• Agree who directs work and where confidential discussions belong.
• Resolve the proposed terms and relationship expectations before commitment.

The hiring and onboarding guide has the next selection and preparation steps.

Where to get help

• Interview and recruit employees
• Fair Work National Employment Standards