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Employment & Workplace Safety

Helping to create an environment that attracts and retains an employers biggest asset; their staff

We know that employment laws are constantly evolving. We provide employers with immediate, expert and commercially-focussed advice to help them meet their changing obligations and create productive and positive workplaces.

How we can help

We take a holistic approach to workplace matters. We will work in partnership with you and not as an arms-length advisor, to help you tackle existing challenges as well as identify and avoid potential issues. We work collaboratively with employers and employees to help workplaces cope with changing laws and create an environment that attracts and retains their biggest asset; their staff.

Clients benefit from our full service firm – we’re a ‘one stop workplace shop’ for employers. We provide specialised advice on recruitment, human resources, industrial relations and occupational health and safety. We also advise clients on employment contracts, termination and performance management processes, complaint investigations, workers compensation, regulatory requirements and insurance/public liability claims.

We act for businesses throughout Australia and in a diverse range of industries including automotive, defence, resources, manufacturing, health and the public service. Our team has represented local government authorities and major corporations, including major insurers, as well as utilities providers, mining companies, small to medium-sized businesses and not-for-profit organisations.

Key services

  • Workers compensation claims and disputes management for self-insurers
  • Defending or advancing work-related litigation in State and Federal Courts and Tribunals including SAET, FWC and SACAT
  • Investigations into workplace conduct concerns, including in relation to remote work sites
  • Contracts of employment – drafted to support business flexibility and to manage essential risk areas
  • Defending complaints of unlawful discrimination including sexual and racial harassment
  • Employment entitlement advice including in relation to transfer of business
  • Advice in relation to redundancy issues and business restructures
  • Unfair dismissal and general protections claims
  • Advice on work health and safety issues and incidents
  • Enterprise bargaining support and strategy
  • Engaging and legally compliant training delivered to staff on key risk areas (bullying and harassment, safety obligations)
  • Prompt and commercial advice – on the phone, videoconferencing, by email or in person

Experience

    We rapidly assisted a Registered Training Organisation to investigate and respond to how the RTO had been managed (very badly) by a former employee. This included assisting it to negotiate with the Australian Skills and Quality Authority and Government Departments regarding the enforcement / prosecution risks and the plans to manage it and to communicate with affected students.

    With the help of our excellent third party software platform, we advised a client on the precise extent of underpayments in a previous 12 month period. That work took a week to turn around. We then advised on the necessary changes to rostering in light of the business’ needs and the requirements of the enterprise agreement.

    We give prompt advice on both sides of the fence for dismissals of senior executives or strategy on raising or responding to grievances, including sexual harassment complaints.

    We have provided quick, fixed-fee advice on whether you are covered by SA’s labour hire licensing laws.

    Workplace investigations are increasingly required to both ascertain complex questions of fact and to support disciplinary action. An investigation often cannot be handled internally to the organisation due to both expertise and perceived conflict of interest.

    If you have a complex issue within your workplace, we can help you. We know that complaints need to be handled with both speed and accuracy while maintaining the highest levels of confidentiality.

    Finlaysons offer a customisable full-service investigation approach that will get to the bottom of the most complex of issues. We have assisted our client’s in investigating serious allegations of racism, bullying and sexual harassment.

    After we have determined the issues via an interview process (in person or via video platform), we provide a detailed investigation report outlining our findings. We can then provide recommendations and legal advice from our expert team to help your organisation decide “where to from here”.

Our Employment & Workplace Safety Experts

Practice Head
guy biddle
Guy Biddle

Partner

Emily Hunt, Finlaysons Lawyers
Emily Hunt

Senior Associate

Jessie Murphy-Allen

Special Counsel