Employment & Industrial Relations - for Employees

Our specialist employment and industrial relations team has extensive experience in all aspects of workplace relations law.  We understand the legal issues relating to recruitment, engagement and termination of employment, as well as the matters that arise both during and after the employment relationship.

We offer:

• practical, accessible, responsive and effective advice;
  
• an emphasis on solutions based strategies and advice;
  
• a focus on dispute resolution rather than litigation.  However, when litigation is needed, we have the expertise and experience to run matters in all jurisdictions.

Our practitioners regularly provide advice on the following areas:

• negotiating terms and conditions of employment as well as drafting contracts of employment;
  
• providing advice on exit strategies from existing employers including dealing with existing restraints of trade and managing obligations in respect of confidential information and intellectual property;
  
• advising on employment issues relating to management buy outs and other business initiatives pursued by executives;
  
• advising on disciplinary matters and disputes over performance;
  
• providing advice in respect of Equal Employment Opportunity and discrimination matters including returning to work and parental leave issues;
  
• advising on and acting in contractual disputes relating to the termination of employment, including entitlements to reasonable notice or bonuses together with the retention of share options and other share based benefits;
  
• advising on and acting in proceedings concerning misleading and deceptive conduct in breach of the Trade Practices Act 1974;
  
• advising on and acting in unfair dismissal claims;
  
• advising on and acting in restraint of trade and confidentiality disputes; and
  
• advising in respect of migration issues (including 457 Visa scheme issues).

Examples of our work include:

• preparing and reviewing service agreements for senior executives;
  
• negotiating terms of separation for CEOs and other senior management, together with drafting and reviewing agreements that regulate separation;
  
• acting for a senior executive in Federal Court proceedings alleging, among other things, misleading and deceptive conduct by his former employer.  The verdict is one of the leading decisions in this area and is reported as Walker v Citigroup Global Markets Australia Pty Limited [2006] FCAFC 101;
  
• acting in Equal Employment Opportunity proceedings in which the highest award in Victoria was made for pain and suffering arising from sexual harassment and discrimination.  This decision was reported as State of Victoria v McKenna (1999) 140 IR 256;
  
• acting in Equal Employment Opportunity proceedings which resulted in one of the leading decisions on carer's responsibility discrimination and which is reported as State of Victoria v Schou (No 2) - (2004) 8 VR 120;
  
• acting for executives who have restraint of trade action taken against them by a former employer;
  
• acting for senior executives on their movement between listed companies, including, dealing with all issues surrounding short term incentives, long terms incentives, restraints of trade and confidentiality together with Corporations Act and Listing Rule issues; and
  
• acting for professionals in defending complaints made against them in professional tribunals or boards.