Employment Law Disruptors & Developments
Join us during your lunchtime as we focus on the hottest employment issues happening right now. This series will guide you through the various areas impacting the workplace while equipping you with the necessary knowledge to aid your organisation or your clients. Take a deep dive into mandatory vaccinations, examine psychosocial risks in the workplace, analyse the hybrid working environment and finally investigate the reimagined working model. Attend individual sessions or all four. WEB226N28
Description
Attend the full series and earn 4 CPD units in Substantive Law
This program is applicable to practitioners from all States & Territories
If you register for the full series as a live online product after the date of an individual session, you will be sent the recording for the sessions that have passed. Alternatively, you can register for individual sessions by following the links below.
Session 1
Wednesday June 1, 2022
This practical session will give you all the necessary and up to date information on mandatory vaccinations. You will leave equipped with the knowledge to guide your employees and clients so that you know what to anticipate in the coming months. WEB226N28A
Chair: Sonia Chandra, Special Counsel, Danny King Legal
1.00pm to 2.00pm Navigating Around Mandatory Vaccinations
- When is a mandatory workplace vaccination direction reasonable?
- Practical issues arising from workplace vaccination mandates
- The constantly changing COVID-19 health and safety landscape
- Discrimination: A legitimate concern or a red herring?
- What the future holds
Presented by Michael Byrnes, Partner, Swaab
Register here for Session 1 only
Session 2
Wednesday June 8, 2022
Psychosocial risks in the workplace are becoming more and more prevalent and this session will help you understand the lingering challenges brought about by the pandemic. You will also examine the reviews and recommendations coming out of this space which will help inform the future for your organisation or your clients. WEB226N28B
Chair: Sonia Chandra, Special Counsel, Danny King Legal
1.00pm to 2.00pm Psychosocial Risks in the Workplace and the Evolving Legal Framework
In this session, we will explore how contemporary workplace law is responding to the challenges presented by psychosocial risks in the workplace and societal developments.
- Consideration and discussion of:
- The ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic
- The attempts implemented to combat the issue of sexual harassment
- The illusive line in determining when someone may be considered ‘at work’
- Analysis of recent trends illustrated in cases such as:
- Safety prosecutions
- Coronial inquests
- Fair Work Commission decisions
- Workers’ compensation claims
- Examining the findings and recommendations arising from numerous public policy reviews that are anticipated to continue to inform developments in this space
Presented by Ian Bennett, Special Counsel and Georgina Dodd, Associate, Sparke Helmore Lawyers
Register here for Session 2 only
Session 3
Wednesday June 15, 2022
The new hybrid working environment is here to stay and you will need to have your finger on the pulse when it comes to the practical implications and challenges posed by the new status quo. Analyse remote performance management and general protection claims to discover solutions to the many new risks and issues that will arise. WEB226N28C
Chair: Sonia Chandra, Special Counsel, Danny King Legal
1.00pm to 2.00pm New Hybrid Working Environment
- The practical implications of mandating a return to the office versus an employee who wants to continue to stay-at-home
- The right to request flexible working arrangements, revisited
- The practical challenges of absenteeism, presenteeism, and remote performance management
- Mitigating risks of bullying, unfair dismissal, and general protections claims
Presented by Kevin Yee, Partner, Danny King Legal
Register here for Session 3 only
Session 4
Wednesday June 22, 2022
Scrutinise the workplace model that continues to undergo vast changes since the pandemic. Analyse digitilisation disruption, logistic and supply chain issues, consider the deindustrialization of the workforce and look at the growth of the gig economy and its impact on the workplace. WEB226N28D
Chair: Sonia Chandra, Special Counsel, Danny King Legal
1.00pm to 2.00pm The Top Five Disruptors Moving Forward in the Workplace
- Geopolitical forces and digitilisation disruption
- Logistic and supply chain issues
- Dramatic deindustrialization of the workforce
- Growth of the gig economy
- Casualisation and contract labour
Presented by Andrew Douglas, Managing Principal, FCW Lawyers
Register here for Session 4 only
Presenters
Sonia Chandra
Sonia has a wealth of experience in employment law and is currently Special Counsel at Danny King Legal. Sonia has had a varied career in employment law, ranging from in-house at a union, private practice for both applicant and respondent firms and corporate in-house. Prior to returning to private practice at Danny King Legal, who were recently recognised as Boutique Diversity Firm of the Year, she worked as Head of Legal for the Australian and International Pilots Association. Her areas of expertise include industrial relations, enterprise bargaining, negotiations, discrimination, unfair dismissals and general protections claims.
Michael Byrnes
Michael Byrnes is a partner of Swaab. He is a workplace relations lawyer with over 20 years' experience in assisting clients navigate employment and work health and safety issues. Michael runs specially tailored training programs and seminars for clients (including at board level). He also drafts and reviews workplace policies and undertakes complex and sensitive workplace investigations. As well as regularly presenting at conferences, Michael is often called upon for expert opinion in the media. He has appeared on numerous radio segments and regularly quoted in publications including The Australian Financial Review, The Age, Lawyers Weekly, Workplace Express, OHS Alert, SmartCompany, HRM Online and InTheBlack on workplace relations and WHS law issues.
Ian Bennett
Ian Bennett is an experienced workplace lawyer specialising in employee relations, work health and safety (WHS) and coronial inquests. He provides practical and pragmatic advice to help employers effectively manage complex legal issues arising in the workplace with strategies that look at the bigger picture and mitigate potential flow-on effects (such as public relations, commercial arrangements, insurance and regulatory compliance). Because of his broad practice and successful completion of numerous in-house secondment roles, Ian has a diverse client base spanning government (local, state and Commonwealth), statutory corporations and authorities as well as across all industries in the private sector.
Georgina Dodd
Georgina is an experienced workplace lawyer who specialises in work health and safety (WHS), coronial inquests and employee relations. Georgina provides pragmatic and commercial advice to employers and / or Insurers who require assistance navigating complex, and often highly sensitive, WHS, compliance and people-management issues. She proactively advises and represents government and private sector clients across a range of industries in an effort to reduce their potential liability, including insurance, construction, manufacturing, road transport and health sectors.
Kevin Yee
Kevin Yee is a Partner at award-winning employment law firm Danny King Legal. He is also an educator on the side: he has helped create and convene the Employment Law course at the University of New South Wales for several years; and has most recently chaired a number of Thomson Reuters Australian roadshows dealing with mental health issues in the workplace (when we could all still travel). His current practice focuses on helping employee and employer clients to navigate the impacts of COVID-19.
Andrew Douglas
Andrew is the Managing Principal of a workplace law firm that practices nationally. He was previously the National Head of Workplace Law at Macpherson Kelley, a member of the executive and provided people training across the firm. Andrew acts for national professional services firms, food manufacturers, the education sector and Local Government and a range of other businesses. He chairs and speaks at Master Classes across Australia on topics ranging from safety law, performance management, managing mental health, wellbeing, industrial relations, investigations and return to work.