Workplace Relations & Safety

Employment Law is a fluid and complex area of law involving a series of different pieces of legislation. It is important for employers to be aware of their legal responsibilities and obligations in relation to employee entitlements and workplace safety.

Likewise, it is important for employees to be aware of the avenues open to them if they believe their rights and entitlements have been breached. Workplace disputes are of particular concern to those in the building and construction industry which has a significantly higher rate of personal injury claims compared to other industries.

Breaches of safety requirements often result in significant civil penalties and can sometimes lead to criminal prosecution against individuals, companies, directors, and officers of businesses.

We act for principals, contractors, developers, managers, and consultants in both the public and private sectors. We assist on a wide range of matters relating to contracts, remuneration policies, dismissals, industrial action, and employment litigation.

We can advise on a full range of Workplace Relations and Safety issues including:

• Drafting employment contracts, policies, industrial strategies, workplace agreements
• Termination procedures, defending unfair dismissal and wrongful termination proceedings, implementation, and enforcement of confidentiality and non-compete provisions
• Executive remuneration via share option plans, profit sharing, and other incentive schemes
• Performance management, termination benefits, and directors’ due diligence obligations
• Industrial Relations including collective bargaining agreements and representation in investigations
• Corporate transactions pertaining to mergers and acquisitions, including due diligence on employment and safety issues, and strategies for retaining employees and managing redundancies
• Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) and discrimination matters
• Workplace regulators, including strategies to minimise regulatory risk and liability, development of policies and procedures to deal with regulatory investigations, and representation in regulatory investigations and litigation
• Training, including Workplace Health and Safety (WH&S) Law and director and officer liability under WHS legislation, managing incident responses and safety regulators, and conducting workplace investigations
• Representation in WH&S investigations, disputes, and prosecutions