Employment and Workplace Relations
Managing employees comes with a host of challenges and potential legal claims including unfair dismissals, unlawful terminations, discrimination, bullying or harassment.
Navigating the minefield that is employment law and workplace relations is necessary for all executives, people leaders and human resources professionals. Our highly experienced and commercially savvy national team is well placed to help you navigate complex compliance requirements, devise industrial relations strategies and understand your legal obligations as an employer to avoid costly disputes wherever possible.
We are not like other law firms. Our focus is not on engaging in costly disputes and protracted litigation where this can be avoided or is not in our clients’ interests. We are invested in developing long standing relationships with organisations to help them build compliant, safe and respectful workplaces that enable their people thrive consistent with our purpose.
How we can help
Our specialist national team of employment law specialists help manage workplace issues that arise every day including in relation to employment contracts and policies, employee performance and terminations, restructures, workplace investigations, industrial relations issues and work health and safety incidents.
We provide comprehensive commercial legal advice to support operational objectives and help employers avoid unnecessary problems before they occur.
We are experienced litigators and represent clients in all types of employment-related litigation, appearing in the Fair Work Commission, anti-discrimination tribunals and the courts.
Our expertise and extensive experience in all aspects of employment law and workplace relations will enable you to mitigate the risks related to issues that could be taken to the Fair Work Commission, tribunals and courts. We can assist with:
- providing day to day legal advice and assistance on all matters affecting the workplace including support with human resources and people leadership including:
- management of employee performance, counselling, disciplinary action and termination of employment;
- management of ill and injured workers ;
- restructures and change management including assistance with mergers, acquisitions and associated consolidation and workforce integration
- employment litigation
- industrial relations
- restraint of trade
- contracts of employment
- discrimination, bullying and harassment
- contractor/contingent worker issues
- underpayments
- whistleblower disclosures
- workplace investigations
- work health and safety compliance
- immigration, and
- privacy.
‘They are innovative, strategic and solution focused. They cut to the bone on the issues at hand and what action we can take to resolve the matter. They do not overpromise and under deliver. They deliver on what they promise.’
Legal 500 Guide 2024
Discrimination, Equal Opportunity and Respect at Work
Our team consists of “go to” experts for organisations and leaders navigating complex discrimination and sexual harassment matters nationally. With the positive duty placing the impetus on organisations and leaders to prevent workplace sexual harassment, sex discrimination, harassment, victimisation and other unlawful conduct and psychosocial hazards in the workplace, our team can assist to not only ensure compliance but deliver best practice advice and assistance that transcends into diversity, equity and inclusive, values based leadership by:
- developing, implementing and assisting organisations and leaders with advice on compliance with workplace policies and procedures;
- assisting leaders and organisations to manage legal and associated risks and consult with workers in relation sexual harassment and other unlawful conduct;
- preparing and delivering tailored executive and board education programs; and
- preparing and delivering tailored worker compliance training and induction sessions.
Where unlawful conduct occurs at work, we assist our clients navigate their legal, reputational and risks to their workplace culture and morale by:
- considering the legal and associated issues our clients are navigating including to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all employees involved in the investigation;
- commissioning independent investigations and providing associated advice including in relation to safety, standdowns and interim measures;
- providing advice and representation regarding investigations by regulators including work health and safety regulations and the Australian Human Rights Commission;
- representing clients in state and Federal courts and tribunals in relation to claims of discrimination, sexual harassment, victimisation, other unlawful conduct and applications to the Fair Work Commission for Orders to stop bullying and sexual harassment.
Industrial Relations
The Australian industrial relations landscape is complex, and it is vitally important businesses get experienced and well-informed advice to ensure they are not impacted by unnecessary disputation or disruption.
Our highly experienced employment law specialists can assist you in navigating the industrial relations landscape and provide advice in relation to enterprise bargaining, consultation obligations, management of industrial disputes and arbitration or litigation. We also represent clients before the Fair Work Commission, Federal Circuit and Family Court and Federal Court in relation to industrial relations issues.
Restraints of Trade
Protecting your business from employees taking your confidential information, intellectual property or customers is vitally important. We can offer specialist advice and guidance on the enforceability of restraints of trade clauses.
Having successfully represented clients in a number of restraint of trade cases, we have the expertise to represent employers in court to enforce valid restrictions for those who breach their contracts. We can also assist in drafting clear and enforceable restraints of trade clauses to protect a company’s legitimate business interests.
Underpayments
Our team works closely with clients to navigate issues of workplace compliance and the identification, investigation, rectification, disclosure and prevention of underpayments and wage theft.
We have extensive experience handling complex underpayment matters. We assist clients by providing award and enterprise agreement interpretation advice, advise and brief Boards and key stakeholders, manage any disclosure to (and engagement with) employees, unions, the Fair Work Ombudsman (FWO) and the Australian Taxation Office.
We are experienced in negotiating enforceable undertakings with the FWO, engaging PR firms for reputation management and preparing rectification documents and communications for affected workforces.
Our team is also experienced in managing sensitive and commercial considerations with respect to workplace compliance and underpayment issues, including managing competing commercial interests, disclosure obligations (including under the Corporations Act and ASX listing rules), the Australian Accounting Standards and audit requirements.
- Representing an international sports equipment manufacturer in a complex general protections claim in the Federal Court of Australia brought by its Australian managing director seeking more than $3 million in damages and compensation.
- Advising an international corporation regarding termination of their most senior Australian based employee following an internal investigation in response to allegations of bullying against current and former employees.
- Acting for a large vehicle fleet company in relation to breach of contract, breach of award and general protection proceedings including successfully having part of the claim summarily dismissed.
- Acting for a multinational technology company in relation to the application of long service leave legislation connected with employees transferring to work within Australia.
- Undertaking independent investigation work for a community disability provider including investigation allegations of patient abuse.
- Advising an electricity provider in relation to historical underpayments arising under their enterprise agreement totalling in excess of $10 million.
- Advising a religious institution regarding possible underpayment of employees in circumstances where they are incorrectly classified as award-free.
- Providing advice to a large aged care provider regarding labour hire arrangements and potential underpayment claims relating to more than 2,000 employees.
- Providing advice to a global payment provider processing services in relation to underpayments affecting approximately 140 staff and totalling more than $500,000 including managing self-reporting and the underpayment to the FWO, relevant state revenue offices and Australian Tax Office.
- Providing advice to a national retailer regarding the application of the General Retail Industry Award to its management employees and consequent underpayment investigation involving an underpayment of in excess of $6 million, the self-reporting of the underpayment to the FWO and successful negotiation of an Enforceable Undertaking.
- Providing substantial legal support and representation to a public sector employer regarding the consolidation of previous enterprise agreements into one enterprise agreement.
- Acting for a large public sector employer with over 150,000 employees in relation to complex employment matters.
- Acting for a large aged care provider in relation to the transfer of approximately 800 employees between associated entities following the acquisition of a third party entity.
- Acting for a transport provider in relation to an application for urgent injunctive relief in the Federal Court of Australia in response to picketing preventing access and egress from its sites.
- Successfully acting for a large hotel operator and providing advice in relation to the termination of zombie enterprise agreements.
- Providing advice to an international shipping company regarding engagement of local crew and their employment conditions.
- Acting for a leading global brokerage company in successfully obtaining injunctive relief against a former senior employee.
- Providing advice and representing a national telco company in relation to general protections and discrimination proceedings following the termination of an emergency services operator.
- Acting for an international software developer in relation to the termination of its Head of People and Culture as a consequence of bullying, sexual harassment and racial discrimination.
