Workplace Law Symposium: The Crucial Issues of 2020
Employment lawyers and HR personnel are facing ever demanding challenges as the workplace landscape continuously shifts to counter balance the current climate. It is critical that you remain on top of these changes in the employment sphere. Gain essential knowledge from our panel of experts as they delve into the most topical workplace issues today, including the Fair Work Act 2009, insights on termination and unfair dismissal claims, underpayment and wage theft, contractual concerns, discrimination & more!
Description
Attend and earn 7 CPD units in Substantive Law
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
Session 1
The Critical Developments of 2020
Chair: Jeffrey Phillips SC, State Chambers
9.00am to 9.05am: Opening Comments by the Chair
9.05am to 9.50am: How 2020 has changed the Employment Law Landscape
Examine the temporary and permanent changes to the Fair Work Act 2009 and awards as a result of the remarkable events of 2020, and consider:
- Issues arising under the revised JobKeeper Scheme
- Pandemic leave and annual leave flexibility
- Anticipated reforms arising from the IR working groups, including to casual and fixed term employment, award simplification, enterprise agreement making, compliance and enforcement and greenfield agreements
Presented by Dimity Leahy, Special Counsel, Colin Biggers & Paisley
9.50am to 10.35am: Rosato v Workpac: Casualisation
- What the fuss is all about
- How this impacts existing arrangements
- What should employers be doing in relation to casual employees?
Presented by Alice DeBoos, Managing Partner, Kingston Reid
10.35am to 10.50am: Morning Tea
10.50am to 11.35am: Future Proofing the Workplace: How COVID-19 Changed the Landscape Forever
- Revisiting location of work; flexibility; hours of work and responsibility terms
- Hot-desking and collaborative work-spaces: things of the past or in a new dimension?
- Refusing to return to the office or shared workplace: a new workplace right, risk or opportunity?
- Employer liability and managing emerging risks in these times of workplace change
- WHS in the home and other places of work; what employers and employees need to know
Presented by Darren Gardner, Partner, Bartier Perry
11.35am to 12.20pm: Contractual Concerns in the Current Climate
- Ensuring flexibility in contractual terms pre and post COVID-19
- Offers of employment
- Effecting variations to employment terms
- Essential terms of contracts
- Concluding the employment relationship
Presented by Ben Motro, Partner, Piper Alderman
12.20pm to 1.05pm: Addressing Underpayment and Wage Theft Claims
- Introduction of wage theft legislation
- In what circumstances can a director or manager be penalised for wage underpayments?
- Can you act for the company and the director?
- What are principles as to the ordering of penalties?
Presented by Ian Latham, Barrister, Denman Chambers
1.05pm to 1.15pm: Final Q&A and Closing Comments by the Chair
Session 2
Urgent Concerns – Termination, Discrimination, and Investigations
Chair: Judith Healy, Partner, JH Law
2.00pm to 3.00pm: Workplace Investigations: Challenging the Norm
- Are investigations legally necessary?
- What do investigations achieve anyway?
- Conducting an effective process for the business
- Evidence dilemmas: how to navigate and not get distracted by legal principles
- Considering investigation in the whistle-blower world
Presented by James Mattson, Partner, Bartier Perry
3.00pm to 4.00pm: Termination of Employment: When Dismissal Becomes Unfair
In this session, you will review the obligations faced by an employer when subject to an unfair dismissal application under the Fair Work Act 2009.
- A comparison of the different claims available to a dismissed employee, including unfair dismissal, adverse action, discrimination and contractual claims
- When does a conduct dispute become a redundancy dispute?
- The redundancy crisis post COVID-19
- Abandonment: Termination or resignation?
- Constructive dismissal
- Casuals and dismissal
- Common contractual issues
Presented by Elizabeth Devine, Principal, Devine Work at Law
4.00pm to 4.15pm: Afternoon Tea
4.15pm to 5.15pm: Discrimination and Adverse Action Claims
This session will explore the vexed intersection of depression, capacity and the real reason for dismissal, including reviewing the Full Bench decision in Western Union Business Solutions v Robinson [2019] FCAFC 181.
Presented by Amber Sharp, Partner, McCullough Robertson Lawyers
Presenters
Jeffrey Phillips SC
Jeffrey Phillips SC is a Sydney based Barrister working from Denman Chambers. He specialises in Industrial Relations, Employment Law, Senior Executive Contracts, Fair Work, Personal Injury Law and Occupational Health and Safety Law, Mediation and Alternative Dispute Resolution and Inquests/Specialist Tribunals. He is co-editor of Thomson Reuters' quarterly journal Workplace Review. He is also the co-author of "Unfair Contracts in New South Wales - an examination of Section 106 of the Industrial Relations Act".
Dimity Leahy
Dimity Leahy is a special counsel in the employment and safety team. Dimity is a labour lawyer with thirteen years' experience working on a broad range of employment, safety and regulatory matters.
Dimity advises on investigatory, risk assessment and organisational review processes and industrial relations matters. She is also an experienced litigator, appearing before the Federal Circuit Court, the Federal Court, state courts and tribunals, industrial relations commissions, and for a range of mediated and arbitrated matters in the Fair Work Commission.
Alice DeBoos
Alice DeBoos is the Managing Partner of Kingston Reid, the largest national employment, IR and safety specialist law firm. She is an experienced employment and industrial relations specialist, whose expertise includes advice and litigation in employment law, industrial relations, and equal opportunity law. She is experienced in dealing with all manner of employment issues including remuneration, performance management, restraints, restructuring and termination. Alice is involved in the design and delivery of training programs and sessions for clients including managing the legal aspects of employment and people management as well as industrial skills and compliance programs.
Ian Latham
Ian Latham is a barrister at Denman Chambers specialising in employment and industrial law, particularly in the area of civil penalty. He has appeared in many civil penalty cases particularly ABCC v Parker (No 1) and (No 2), BKH Contractors Case (No 1) and (No 2) and FWO v ZNZ, FWO v A-Z and FWO v Robit Nominees. He writes for the Lexis Fair Work Act Service and the Lexis Industrial Relations Act (NSW) Service. He writes articles on workplace law including papers on civil penalties such as The Fair Work Ombudsman and workplace issues
Ben Motro
Ben Motro is a Special Counsel in our Sydney office. He is a member of the firm's Employment Relations team. Ben's primary area of expertise is in employment law and industrial relations. Ben provides advice to clients in all areas of employment law, industrial relations and workplace health and safety, and in a variety of industries, including the IT, retail, manufacturing, food & beverage, and pharmaceutical industries. Ben has had significant experience with advising on and preparing employment contracts, enterprise agreements, deeds of release and employer policies.
Darren Gardner
In Bartier Perry’s workplace team, Darren is now part of the largest team of accredited specialists in employment and industrial relations. He also provides creative workplace dispute resolution services as an accredited mediator and internationally trained negotiator.
From his wealth of practical experience and specialist law and practice knowledge, Darren can skilfully encourage parties to get to the heart of an issue. He does this sensitive to intersecting political, industrial, legal and commercial interests to find the right workplace solution.
James Mattson
James Mattson has 20 years of experience on the complete range of employment law and industrial relations matters. James has been at Bartier Perry for over 15 years and is the Practice Head of the Workplace Law & Culture Team at Bartier Perry. James regularly acts for employers in the government and private sector. James regularly helps management and HR apply holistic and lasting solutions to workplace issues and in particular often helps dealing with complaints and grievances, managing difficult employees and resolving complex claims involving awards, agreements and employment contracts. He also often represents clients in court as an advocate in unfair dismissal, adverse action and discrimination claims.
Elizabeth Devine
Elizabeth Devine is a specialist in employment law and conflict management.
Elizabeth is the Founder of Devine Law at Work, a law firm and consultancy which specialises in employment law, workplace relations and conflict management. In this role she provides a range of services to private and public sector employers.
Elizabeth’s qualifications include a Masters of Dispute Resolution, a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Arts. She has been practicing law for 28 years and has specialised in all aspects of Australian employment law, workplace relations and conflict management for 23 years.
Amber Sharp
Amber has over 20 years’ experience as a workplace relations lawyer.
Amber specialises in workplace advisory and litigious matters. She strategically advises clients in the public and private sector in relation to discrimination, bullying claims and termination disputes.
She is praised by clients for her down to earth, straight talking and solutions-oriented approach. Amber provides technically accurate legal advice, but at the same time is commercially and industrially pragmatic.
Amber is also an accomplished and sought after speaker at industry seminars, and enjoys delivering workplace training.
Judith Healy
Judith Healy operates JH Law, which specialises in workplace legal advice. JH Law has operated JH Law for about 7 years. Prior to that, Judith was a Partner and Team Leader of the Workplace Relations team in Sydney law firm, DLA Piper. Judith does a broad range of work including advising on contracts and policies, acting in unfair dismissal disputes, adverse action claims, breaches of awards, breaches of restraints and confidentiality obligations. As such, she has appeared in a broad range of jurisdictions, including Fair Work, and the Federal Court. Relevantly Judith has acted as an Investigator for Government and publicly listed companies.
Venue
The Grace Hotel
77 York St
Sydney 2000
NSW
Australia