Having gone through, and overcome, their own personal employment and whistleblower battles, Serene and Hanina are very well positioned to provide you with the meticulous legal advice, know-how and empathy necessary to achieve realistic results. They will help you navigate through the stress and anger often associated with employment & whistleblower law processes, focusing on achieving the most practical outcome for you.
We have dealt with:
- Complex whistleblowing matters relating to lack of transparency and accountability in both public bureaucracies and private corporations.
- Pregnancy and parental discrimination where we have successfully negotiated flexible working arrangements for returning parents, including mothers and fathers. We are very proud of the precedent we established in the Rind Matter where it was found that employees returning from parental leave are presumed to be entitled to return to work part-time. This makes it very difficult for employers to refuse such requests where they can be reasonably accommodated.
- Mature aged and disabled people with discrimination claims at the recruitment stage, in the workplace and in decisions about training, promotion and retirement.
- Young apprentices and their families with resolving serious bullying issues, including assisting with instituting criminal proceedings against perpetrators.
- Sexual harassment and bullying claims where we have assisted both women and men reach acceptable arrangements that restore their dignity and ensure that they can continue with their careers in a safe space.
- Misconduct in the Private Sector (Whistleblowing)- this relates to conduct that potentially breaches laws relating to corporations or financial services and would be considered a matter in the public interest and in line with the Government’s objectives of fair and transparent markets and confident and informed investors and consumers.
- Misconduct in the Public Sector (Whistleblowing)- this relates to the types of conduct that contravenes a Commonwealth, State or Territory law, or a foreign law that applies to the public agency, perverts the course of justice, is corrupt, constitutes maladministration (including conduct that is based on improper motives), is unreasonable, unjust, oppressive or negligent, is an abuse of public trust, involves fabrication, falsification, plagiarism or deception relating to scientific research, or other misconduct in relation to scientific research, analysis or advice results, is wastage of public money or public property, unreasonably endangers health and safety or endangers the environment.
- Discriminatory behaviours- being treated unfairly or not as well as others because of a characteristic like your age, sex, race, marital status, religion, sexuality or gender identity, physical features, disability, political views, family or carer’s responsibilities, pregnancy, social origin or engaging in industrial activity.
- Bullying behaviours- including verbal, physical, social or psychological abuse such as behaviour that intimidates, manipulates, offends, degrades or humiliates, unreasonable criticism that is not part of managing a person’s performance, exclusion or isolation from co-workers, withholding information you need to perform your job, removing responsibility or imposing menial tasks.
- Victimisation behaviours- including being subjected to threats or other form of detriment or harm for having lodged a workplace or whistleblower complaint, provided information or documents, reasonably asserted your rights or someone else’s rights under a workplace law, or made an allegation that a person has acted unlawfully under a workplace law.
- Sexual harassment- unwelcome or unwanted sexual behaviour that offends, humiliates, intimidates or undermines you. It can be physical, verbal, written or other conduct. It can be a single incident, or repeated behaviour.
- Vilification behaviours- including behaviour that incites or encourages hatred, serious contempt, revulsion or severe ridicule against another person or group of people because of their sex, race and/or religion.
- Conducting due diligence and negotiating terms of any employment contract.
- Drafting reasonable restrictive provisions such as non-compete & restraint of trade clauses.
- Mounting legal challenges regarding the enforceability of existing non-compete & restraint of trade clauses that are not reasonable.
- Mounting legal challenges in relation to breaches of employment contract.
- Flexible working arrangements requests.
- Minimum wages.
- Penalty rates and allowances.
- Deductions and overpayments.
- Paying wages.
- Pay-slips and record keeping.
- Tax and superannuation.
- Pay during stand down and severe weather.
- Unpaid work.
- Leave entitlements including parental leave, annual leave, personal carers or compassionate leave, long service leave.
- Genuine redundancy entitlements.