8.30am - Participants arriving for 8.45am start
8.45am - Welcome and introduction
Chair: Professor Joellen Riley-Munton, UTS Faculty of Law
8.50am - Adverse Action and Corporate Decision-making; What’s the “Reason” for Action Taken by Multiple Decision-makers or Contributors?
Speaker: David Chin SC, Barrister, 5 Wentworth Chambers
- Adverse action provisions protect employees, including senior executives, from actions such as termination of employment that are taken for a proscribed reason (such as their exercise of workplace right or because of discrimination on the grounds of race, sex, age etc.)
- Recent case law on the adverse action provisions in the Fair Work Act 2009 consider how to identify whether an adverse action has been taken for a proscribed reason when there are multiple decision-makers involved in the process leading to the action.
9.45am – Q & A
9.50am - Unfair Dismissals – a Year in Review
Speaker: Alexandra Grayson, Partner, Maurice Blackburn Lawyers
- What do unfair dismissal laws mean for employers and employees?
- When do they apply?
- What are the costs provisions?
- What compensation/settlement terms might be awarded or negotiated?
- What interesting developments have there been in case law over the past year?
10.40am – Q & A
10.45am - Break
11.05am - Navigating Mental Health Concerns During Termination Processes
Speaker: Danny King, Principal, Danny King Legal
- Identifying mental health risks in employees, and increased stressors in termination contexts
- Specific steps to incorporate into performance and conduct management processes where mental health is a concern
- Best practice measures for redundancy processes
- A case for deploying respectful responses to claims arising from termination, where the applicant is demonstrating mental health vulnerability.
11.55am – Q & A
12.00pm - Using Redundancy as a Cover for Termination
Speaker: The Hon Peter Sams AM, Former Deputy President, Fair Work Commission
- Sham redundancy v legitimate business needs – signs to look for
- Offering redundancy to ameliorate adverse consequences of dismissal for cause or admitted serious and wilful misconduct
- Voluntary or forced redundancy
- Refusing reasonable alternative employment – principles to consider
- Demonstrating extent of consultation before firm decision.
12.50pm - Q & A
1.00pm - Close
