Employment
Meridian Lawyers’ Employment team will work closely with you to understand your business challenges, to manage the risks you face on a day-to-day basis and to help you achieve your business objectives. Our employment law team is focused on client service, delivering straightforward advice when you need it most.
Our employment team offers advice and expertise on all aspects of employment, workplace relations law and work health and safety.
We understand the importance of a prompt, coordinated, strategic and practical approach to dealing with issues and disputes that arise in the workplace, and work closely with our clients to solve employment issues at the earliest opportunity.
Our employment law services include:
- Advice, negotiation assistance and representation in enterprise bargaining
- Industrial disputes and managing stakeholder relationships
- Labour hire and independent contractor arrangements
- Unfair dismissal, general protections and unlawful termination claims;
- Bullying, discrimination and sexual Harassment policy drafting, training and representation
- Conducting workplace investigations;
- Award making, review, interpretation and coverage
- Work health and safety advice, training and prosecution defence
- Drafting and reviewing employment contracts and workplace policies
- Protection of confidential information and enforcing post-employment restraints
- Assistance with disciplinary processes and performance management;
- Strategic advice in relation to restructuring, redundancy, outsourcing, acquiring or selling a business, transferring employees and responding to requests to tender;
- Managing ill and injured employees
- Parental Leave and requests for flexible working arrangements
Our dedicated employment law team has extensive litigation experience and our team and skilled advocates regularly representing clients in litigated matters in the Fair Work Commission, state and federal Courts and state and federal anti-discrimination tribunals.
Our clients include large and small business employers, employment insurance providers and employer associations. Our clients tell us that they choose our employment team because we are efficient, commercial, pragmatic and approachable.
Employment Insights
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Significant $1.3m payout warns employers to take employee bullying complaints seriously
The Supreme Court of Victoria[1] has sent a solemn message to employers to sit up and listen to employees who make complaints of bullying and harassment in the workplace, by awarding damages in excess of $1.3 million to a plaintiff suffering psychiatric and physical injuries because her employer failed to…
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Selling your business? Don’t forget an important asset – your employees!
If you are selling your business, careful consideration must be given to your employees and what will happen to their employment as a result of the sale. Assuming the sale is to an unrelated entity (so the employing entity will change), the employees will either transfer with the business to…
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Have you planned your party properly?
As the end of the year swiftly approaches, along with it comes the inevitable festive season celebrations of office parties and other functions. Although it is a time to celebrate the year that was and recognise the hard work by staff, employers need to ensure that adequate planning has been…
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Commercial insights – Spring 2015
Meridian Lawyers' Spring 2015 edition of Commercial insights discusses governance issues for business including directors’ duties, good employment policies and practice, the benefits of ownership agreements with partners, brand and logo issues on marketing material, and privacy compliance. Contents Directors’ duties and the consequences of a breach Business owners’ agreements Do you have…
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Employment Insights: Fair Work Commission lays down some markers on bullying
As lawyers we often hesitate in drawing definite conclusions on allegations of bullying, so the last thing we want is for a general article like this to embolden the bully or intimidate the victim. This is because the facts of each case are so critical. For a long time there…
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Employment relations principal joins Meridian team
Meridian Lawyers welcomes experienced employment practitioner Sharlene Wellard to the firm’s employment law team in the Sydney office commencing 8 July 2014. Sharlene is a highly regarded senior practitioner with extensive experience in employment and industrial law. She provides strategic advice and advocacy in all areas of industrial law, employment,…
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Commercial Insights – August 2014
In our Commercial Insights, we introduce our new team members, Principal Sharlene Wellard and Special Counsel Ian Goddard. Also in this issue we look at some upcoming events including the Pharmacy Business Network (12 September 2014). Articles: Dismissal may be warranted but still unfair without proper procedure Is this the end of…