About the event

This seminar is available for in person or webinar attendance.

The Employee Relations Committee invites practitioners to attend its first employment law update for 2019. This seminar will cover enterprise bargaining, a case law update for employment and industrial lawyers, and an important ethical discussion for those who negotiate settlements in unfair dismissal matters.

Is there a future for enterprise bargaining?
The number of enterprise agreements approved in the past year is at an all-time low. A series of cases dealing with issues such as the technical approval requirements, the better off overall test, and increased scrutiny of the pool of employees balloted has led many employers and their workforces away from enterprise bargaining. In this session, we will discuss the key cases that have restricted enterprise bargaining and look ahead to the coming Federal election to see what the future may hold for enterprise bargaining.

Ethics in settlement negotiations
This session covers our professional obligations and ethical constraints as practitioners to our clients, to our colleagues and to the administration of justice, in negotiating settlements between employers and employees. What limitations are there on an employer and ex-employee in a dispute over a termination agreeing to re-characterise the nature of or reason for the termination, for example as a resignation or a redundancy? What room is there to agree settlement payments that are not subject to tax deductions? What negotiating strategies are out of bounds?

Workplace case law update
An update on recent employment cases including Workpac Pty Ltd v Skene [2018] FCAFC 131 and Joshua Klooger v Foodora Australia Pty Ltd [2018] FWC 6836.

Level: Intermediate

Morning Tea will be provided.