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Employment Law
The laws governing employers, employees, and subcontractors, are complex and constantly changing. The introduction, then removal, of the WorkChoices laws, was followed in 2009-2010 by substantial changes under the Fair Work Act.
Both businesses and employees need to be aware of the complex industrial laws, including:-
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the return of awards, and introduction of "modern awards" applicable to many employees;
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the re-introduction of unfair dismissal laws;
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whether or not redundancy pay is payable to an employee being made redundant;
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the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code and its implications for employees and employers in small businesses.
Somerville Legal's employment law team has extensive experience in all matters relevant to employment law, including both commencing and defending unfair dismissal proceedings, advising businesses on effectively addressing disciplinary or performance issues amongst their employees, and dealing with the Fair Work Ombudsman for both employers and employees.
Our lawyers have appeared at Fair Work Australia, the NSW Industrial Relations Commission and the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal, as well as in the Local and District Court regarding employment disputes.
We are of the strong belief that the best way to avoid employment disputes is to ensure there is a clear written employment contract in place from the very beginning of employment, and we regularly advise both management and prospective employees in relation to employment contracts.
A leading case, handled by the Somerville Legal employment law team was Cactus Imaging v Peters. This related to restraining an employee from acting in breach of his agreement not to work for a competitor.
Should you require our services, please contact Stephen Lynch.