Why Workplace Matters?

KXBbwIn our practice, we find that our business clients are increasingly focused on workplace matters – how they can effectively recruit, retain, train, manage and support their employees, while also keeping their employees healthy, safe, happy and productive.  There can be many twists and turns, successes and mistakes in an employer’s journey with its workforce.  There can also be some very difficult times – when an employee is injured or dies, suffers from a mental health issue, redundancies and dismissals, legal action around unfair dismissal and so on.

It is for all these “Workplace Matters” that we say “Workplace Matters”! Or at least it should for our region’s many employers.

On Wednesday, 15 October 2014, I will be joining Tania Thompson of Tania Thompson & Associates (an HR Consulting firm) and Greg Parkinson of Subsyst (a Work Health and Safety Consultancy) on an interactive Q & A panel as part of The Tamworth Toolbox series coordinated by the NSW Business Chamber.  We will be answering your questions about Work, Health & Safety, Human Resources and Employee Relations.

Our goal is to have our region’s employers better understand their obligations and rights in relation to workplace matters.

We encourage you to join us from 12.00 pm to 1.00 pm next Wednesday, 15 October 2014 at The Pub, Gunnedah Road, Taminda.

For further details, please email maree.mcentyre@nswbc.com.au or ring Maree on 6584 0910.

The Employment Law team at Everingham Solomons is well equipped to assist you with all your workplace relations issues because Helping You is Our Business.

Click here for more information on Keiran Breckenridge.

Business disputes – avoiding being the bunny in the headlights

KXBbwNobody wants to end up in a business dispute. They distract from your core purpose as a business person – running a viable business that gives you, your employees and your respective families their livelihoods. Business disputes are expensive and stressful for all involved. Sometimes though your business is under serious threat from your business partners, suppliers, customers or even your employees, and you just have to take decisive action.

Questions and statements then abound. What do I do next? I feel like a bunny in the headlights! What does the contract say about this mess? Where is the contract? It was just a handshake deal! Why aren’t they doing what they said they would do? It’s unfair! Where is that email that proves what I am saying? What is this going to cost me? How do I stop my customers from finding out about this? Do I need a lawyer? And so on…

For most businesses some kind of a dispute (whether big or small) is inevitable. Like all business issues, it is best to be prepared in advance. Some of our business dispute resolution tips are:

  • Manage your documents – find that key contract, purchase order, invoice, or email at the click of a mouse or the pull of a filing cabinet drawer
  • Compile your facts and evidence – put your documents in subject and date order – earliest to latest, highlight the parts that are most relevant, have your key witnesses write down their versions of events
  • Meet with your lawyer as soon as you can – he or she will put your mind at ease, explain processes and next steps, advise you on crucial deadlines and the like
  • Keep calm and remain objective – be in a good frame of mind to make decisions and try to see both sides
  • Avoid thinking that “It’s a matter of principle now…” that can only be resolved in one way
  • Embrace early dispute resolution methods like settlement conferences and mediation – often cheaper and less stressful than going to court
  • Think of creative solutions – look for a ‘win-win’ outcome or, even better, a restored business relationship

At Everingham Solomons, we have the expertise to assist you with all issues relating to business disputes because Helping You is Our Business.

Click here for more information on Keiran Breckenridge.

Gifts should have ribbons, not strings …

KXBbwKeiran Breckenridge, our Special Counsel, reports on a recent case industrial/employment law case.

Two unrelated companies gave certain employees $300 gift cards for working through a union strike.  But their gifts came back to bite.

The union took the companies to the Federal Court and argued that the failure to give gift cards to the striking employees amounted to the companies injuring the employees who went on strike and/or discriminating between employees based on who went on strike or not, all for simply exercising their workplace rights.  The union claimed that the companies breached s.340 of the Fair Work Act 2009, which prohibits the taking of ‘adverse action’ against an employee because he or she has exercised a workplace right.

The companies then had the burden of proving that they did not take adverse action.  They were able to satisfy the Judge that the reason for the gifts was to show gratitude to the employees who did not go on strike for their extra effort in assisting the companies continue business and meet their commercial obligations at a difficult time.  The employees did not miss out on a gift because they had gone on strike.

The Federal Court also concluded that, by not giving the striking employees a gift, the companies had not injured those employees.  Also, there was no discrimination between employees because they were not treated differently while in the same position.  They were in different positions;  some were striking and some were not.

The companies were successful against the union but at a price in terms of legal costs and distraction from their core businesses.  No less than seven senior managers had to prepare and give evidence in the case!  Costs are rarely recoverable in Fair Work Act matters.

Employers can still reward extra effort and high performance but they should seek advice for other situations, especially at times of union industrial activity.

The Employment Law team at Everingham Solomons is well equipped to assist you with all your workplace relations issues because Helping You is Our Business.

Click here for more information on Keiran Breckenridge.

Introducing Keiran Breckenridge

KXBbwHello, my name is Keiran Breckenridge. I started with Everingham Solomons about a month ago in the role of Special Counsel. Before joining Everingham Solomons, I worked for another firm in the region for two years and, before that, I worked in Sydney at a couple of mid-sized commercial law firms. My family and I made our ‘tree change’ over three and half years ago, and we are all very happy to live, work and learn in this beautiful part of the world.

I have been admitted as a solicitor for over 17 years now. My practice is mainly in the commercial / business law field with particular focus on commercial disputes and insolvency law and practice. I am also assisting Everingham Solomons’ clients with their employment law needs. Each of these practice areas involves complex, challenging and emotional issues. After all, nobody in business likes being involved in a dispute with a customer, a supplier or a joint venture partner. So many people are impacted, both emotionally and financially, when businesses and individuals find themselves in financial difficulty. Everyone at home and at work is affected when an unfair dismissal occurs, someone is bullied or discriminated against, or it becomes necessary to lay people off. My job is to work with our clients when they find themselves in such situations and help find fast, commercially sensible and cost effective solutions. Sometimes we have to take up the fight for our clients. When that occurs, I am able to draw on years of experience in the various courts and tribunals in New South Wales and in the federal jurisdictions.

Outside work, my wife and I try to keep up with our daughters’ activities. Yes, the usual – basketball, then netball, then swimming, then hockey, the flute, double bass and so on. But I also play in an over 35s hockey competition myself, follow the league and the union (and any other sport really), try my hand at some DIY, and manage a vege patch and some chooks.

I am proud to now work for Everingham Solomons. Our firm has invested wisely in excellent people, systems and processes, which lets our lawyers focus on the needs of our clients and getting the job done. I amalready enjoying being part of the team.

Click here for more information on Keiran Breckenridge.