Conference Agenda
8:50
Chairperson Welcome Address
-
Employment Law Major Updates including Fair Work Act revisions, Casual Employment Updates, Gender equity reporting changes, Minimum Wage Increase, Superannuation contributions
Sydney: Erin Lynch, Partner, Gadens
Brisbane: Meghan De Pinto-Smith, Senior Associate, McKays Solicitors
Melbourne: David Dilger, Director, Edge Legal
Perth: Kate Walawski, Barrister
09:05
Workplace Mental Health, Psychosocial Hazards, and Duty of Care
-
​The regulatory updates on psychosocial hazards
-
Addressing duty of care obligations and psychosocial hazards for a remote, hybrid and flexible workforce
-
Identifying workforce issues leading to employee fatigue and burnout
-
How employers can take proactive steps to embed psychosocial safety in their organisations
Sydney: Emily Strachan, Senior Associate, Kingston Reid
Brisbane: Liam Fraser, Partner, Kingston Reid
Melbourne: Sarah-Jayne Rayner, Senior Associate, Kingston Reid
Perth: Shannon Walker, Special Counsel, Kingston Reid
09:50
Flexible Arrangements, Entitlements and the Modern Working Environment
-
Identifying evolving HR and organisational risk exposure
-
Addressing developments in working arrangements, leave, and pay
-
Maximum term and fixed term contracts
-
Additional hours - what is reasonable?
-
Wage theft: everything you need to know
Sydney: Clancy King, Partner, DLA Piper
Brisbane: Mitch Robertson, Special Counsel, DLA Piper
Melbourne: Elizabeth Cole, Senior Associate, DLA Piper
Perth: Leanne Nickels, Partner, DLA Piper
10:35 Morning Tea and Networking Activity
10:55
Handling Complaints and Conducting Investigations
-
Ensuring procedural fairness is followed during a workplace investigation
-
Do employees have the right to see the complaint, what is the time frame?
-
Can employment be terminated without a workplace investigation?
-
Standard of proof required in workplace investigations
-
Powers of Australian regulators and implications for employees involved in investigations
Sydney: Ben Motro, Partner, Piper Alderman
Brisbane: Tim Capelin, Partner, Piper Alderman
Melbourne: John Evans, Senior Associate, Piper Aldermanle, Senior Associate, DLA Piper
Perth: Danielle Flint, Special Counsel, HWL Ebsworth
11:40
Terminations and Preventing Unfair Dismissal Claims
-
Conduct vs performance-based termination
-
When is a redundancy genuine?
-
Is a demotion a termination?
-
Strengthening your disciplinary and termination processes
-
Common pitfalls and when liabilities related to terminations emerge – including termination of fixed term and rolling contracts
Sydney: Elizabeth Radley, Partner, Moray & Agnew
Brisbane: Louise Hogg, Partner, Moray & Agnew
Melbourne: Madelaine August, Partner, Moray & Agnew
Perth: Brian Jackson, Special Counsel, Moray & Agnew
12:25 Lunch
1:10
INTERACTIVE SCENARIO BASED DISCUSSION: Managing Poor or Difficult Employee Behaviour and Serious Misconduct
Join us for a session designed to encourage critical thinking about employment law in a scenario context. The session includes small group discussions, group reporting, expert feedback with insights and take-aways from our lawyer, and a Q&A session.
Sydney: Alicia Mataere, Partner, Holman Webb
Brisbane: Shelley Williams, Partner, Kingston Reid
Melbourne: Emily Dempster, Special Counsel, HWL Ebsworth
Perth: Kate Walawski, Barrister
1:55
Managing Ill and Injured Employees
-
Navigate the complexities of gathering and using medication information
-
Clarify what to do when in doubt about legitimacy of illness or injury claims
-
Identifying key return to work risks of ill & injured employee
-
Abandonment of employment
-
Leverage case law examples and real-world practical strategies to manage ill and
injured workers and mitigate the risk of claims
Sydney: James Allen, Senior Associate, KHQ Lawyers
Brisbane: Francesca Musumeci, Senior Associate, HWL Ebsworth
Melbourne: Claire Brown, Principal Solicitor, KHQ Lawyers
Perth: Jo Alilovic, Director, 3D HR Legal; Cara Leavesley, Special Counsel, 3D HR Legal
2:40 Afternoon Tea
3:00
Panel: How To Make Your Workplace More Inclusive
-
Making the workplace Neuro-Inclusive
-
Inclusive recruitment and flexibility during the interview and hiring process
-
The role of managers in providing an inclusive working environment
-
Reasonable accommodations - what are they?
-
Learning and development policies that support inclusion
-
Auditing the workplace for compliant access and accessibility
3:45
INTERACTIVE ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS
Roundtable discussion to work through and resolve a common, yet complex
HR issue whilst increasing awareness of relevant employment laws and policies.
Possible areas of discussion:
-
The Right to Disconnect
-
Sexual harassment positive duty
-
Post-employment obligations, protecting your organisation’s information
-
Awards and Enterprise bargaining agreements – what you need to know
-
Latest trends in HR policies
Sydney: Kaushalya Mataraaratchi, Special Counsel, Gilbert & Tobin
Cynthia Elachi, Special Counsel, Clayton Utz
Bryony Binns, Partner, Gadens; Louise Rumble, Partner, Gadens
Shanni Zoeller, Senior Associate, HWL Ebsworth
Brisbane: Andrew Cardell-Ree, Partner, Thomson Geer
Laura Hillman, Special Counsel, Clayton Utz
Helen Donovan, Special Counsel, Hopgood Ganim
Melbourne: Stephen Silvapulle, Special Counsel, Clayton Utz
Kaushalya Mataraaratchi, Special Counsel, Gilbert & Tobin
Diana Diaz, Special Counsel, Gadens
George Haros, Partner, Gadens
Jessica Smith, Lawyer, Gadens
Virginia Liu, Special Counsel, Holding Redlich
Perth: Jo Alilovic, Director, 3D HR Legal
Cara Leavesley, Special Counsel, 3D HR Legal
Gemma Wheeler-Carver, Senior Associate, Kennedy Vinciullo
Holly Gretton, Lawyer, Hall & Wilcox
4:30 Chairperson’s Key Takeaways and Closing Address
4:40 End of Conference