Employment Law Australia

09:00 - Registration and coffee
09:30 - An overview of the employment law framework in Australia
· Setting the scene: Australia''s labour market and legal framework
· The key differences and how it compares to the position in the UK?

10:00 - Hiring employees and contracts of employment
· The offer of employment (what pre-employment checks should be done)?
· Practical advice on drafting terms and conditions of employment
· Minimum employment benefits (including superannuation (the pension equivalent), annual leave, personal/carer''s leave, long service leave and working time arrangements)
· State versus employer benefits (including the paid maternity leave debate)

11:15 - Coffee
11:30 - Day to day employee management
· Highlighting some key differences in approach
· Equal treatment of employees: what is the situation in Australia?
· Discipline and grievances: key issues and differences to the position in the UK
· Developing trends: including bullying and the role of the health and safety watchdog
· Privacy issues

12:30 - Lunch
13:30 - Collective bargaining and relationships with trade unions
· Collective bargaining and the role of the unions
· Collective agreements and their interaction with employment contracts
· Union consultation: how far does it go?

14:00 - Use of independent contractors
· The Contractor employee debate
· Drafting contractor agreements
· The risk of legal claims (including in relation to sham arrangements)

14:15 - Protecting your business
· Confidential information, IP and Post Termination Restraints
· How to get the drafting right: what you need to know
· What happens if your team leaves: practical steps to best protect your business

14:45 - Tea
15:00 - Termination of employment
· Termination of employment: the risks and what to watch out for
· General unfair dismissal protection
· Redundancies and restructuring
· Adverse Action claims
· Employment tribunals and Courts

16:15 - Questions and answers
16:30 - End of seminar