Workplace Law Symposium
Issues covered include: Restraint of Trade and Breach of Confidential Information, Liability of Officers, WHS, OHS Act, Fair Work Act 2009, Unfair Dismissal, Enterprise Agreements, Enterprise Bargaining, better off overall test (BOOT), Drug and Alcohol Testing, Sexual Harassment, Weinstein clause, Working from home.
Description
It’d be nice if you could simply tell yourself and your clients to keep calm and carry on working. But with so many rapidly developing changes, growing risks, and ever increasing challenges for employment lawyers, it’s never so simple. Gain essential knowledge from our panel of experts as they delve into the most topical contemporary issues in the workplace.
Attend and earn 7 CPD units in Substantive Law
This symposium was recorded in VIC on 21 March 2019
Session 1
Critical Issues in Workplace Law
Chair: Rohan Millar, Barrister, Douglas Menzies Chambers
9.00am to 10.00am: Restraint of Trade and Breach of Confidential Information
- Best practice drafting and enforceability of restraint of trade clauses
- Protecting confidential information
- What to do if you suspect there has been a breach
Presented by George Haros, Principal Lawyer, MacPherson Kelley; Leading Employment Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2018
10.00am to 11.00am: Liability of Officers, Managers and Advisers under Workplace Laws
- Accessorial liability under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth)
- Officer liability under the Model WHS law and the Victorian OHS Act
- Risk minimisation strategies
Presented by Chris Molnar, Partner, Kennedys; Accredited Specialist in Workplace Relations
11.00am to 11.15am Morning Tea
11.15am to 12.15pm: Termination of Employment: Unfair Dismissal
Review of recent significant unfair dismissal case law and developments, including a consideration of:
- Statistical trends from the past year concerning unfair dismissal applications at the conciliation and hearing stages
- Jurisdictional matters: maximum term employment contracts, minimum employment period and what constitutes ‘dismissal’
- Valid reason but procedurally flawed: investigating misconduct and procedural fairness
Presented by Melissa Scadden, Senior Associate, Justitia Lawyers and Consultants
12.15pm to 1.15pm: Strategies and Developments in Enterprise Bargaining and Industrial Disputation
- Is an enterprise agreement necessary or even desirable anymore?
- Terminating enterprise agreements: The way of the future?
- Understand how to apply the better off overall test (BOOT)
- Developments in good faith bargaining
- New limits on industrial action
Presented by Ben Marshall, Partner, Holding Redlich
Session 2
Personal Conduct and Its Implications in the Workplace
Chair: Michael Butler, Principal Lawyer, HR+Worklaw
2.00pm to 3.00pm: Drug and Alcohol Testing in the Workplace
- The importance of having appropriate policies and procedures
- The legal issues around testing
- The conflict between private activities and workplace safety
- How to respond to positive tests
- How to roll out policies and procedures in a clear and comprehensive manner
Presented by Anthony Massaro, Principal, Russell Kennedy Lawyers
3.00pm to 4.00pm: Working with Claims of Sexual Harassment
- A step by step guide to processing a claim
- The Weinstein clause: Is it necessary and what will it mean for a business?
Presented by Nick Ruskin, Partner, K & L Gates
4.00pm to 4.15pm Afternoon Tea
4.15pm to 5.15pm: The New Flexibility for the Employee
- Working from home: navigating the changing landscape
- Employees or independent contractors in the gig economy
- The limitations of casual employment after Workpac Pty Ltd v Skene
- The increasing impact of technology on working arrangements
- How employment lawyers can prepare for workplaces of the future
Presented by Joseph Kelly. Principal, Kelly Workplace Lawyers; Accredited Specialist in Workplace Relations; Recommended Leading Employment Lawyer, Doyle’s Guide 2018