Something has gone wrong
Disputes, complaints and claims.
Employment disputes
- An employee has raised a grievance about pay, rosters or how they've been treated
- A dispute under your award or agreement is heading to the Fair Work Commission or WAIRC
- A falling-out between staff is starting to affect the rest of the team
How we help: We step in early, follow your dispute procedure properly and work to settle it before it becomes a claim.
Terminations
- You need to dismiss someone for poor performance or misconduct, and want it done properly
- Someone has to go today after serious misconduct
- You're not sure whether the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code applies to you
How we help: We plan the process before you act (the warnings, the meetings, the letters) to help reduce the risk of a challenge.
Discrimination, bullying and harassment complaints
- An employee says they've been treated unfairly because of their age, disability, pregnancy or another protected attribute
- A bullying or sexual harassment complaint has been made against a manager
- You're not sure what the positive duty to prevent sexual harassment and related unlawful conduct requires of you
How we help: We help you respond to the complaint, manage the people involved and put practical prevention measures in place.
Fair Work Commission and WAIRC claims
- An unfair dismissal, general protections or bullying claim has been served on your business
- You have days, not weeks, to respond
- You're a sole trader, partnership or trust and don't know whether you're in the federal or WA system
How we help: We prepare your response, guide you through conciliation and get you ready for a hearing, in either system.
The union is at the table
Enterprise bargaining and unions.
Enterprise agreement negotiations
- Your agreement is nearing or past its nominal expiry date, and the union wants to bargain
- A log of claims has arrived that the business can't afford
- The union has applied for a protected action ballot, or is talking about intractable bargaining
- You're starting a new project and need a greenfields agreement before you hire
How we help: We set your bargaining strategy, run the negotiations and take the agreement through to Fair Work Commission approval.
Dealing with unions
- A union official has given notice to enter your site
- Delegates are raising disputes faster than you can respond
- A union has applied for a regulated labour hire arrangement (‘same job, same pay’) order affecting your business
How we help: We handle right of entry, delegates' rights and union disputes, so the relationship stays workable and your rights are protected.
The business is changing
Restructures, redundancies and change.
Change management and restructures
- You need to restructure, cut costs or make roles redundant
- Your award or agreement requires consultation, and you can't afford to get it wrong
- You're changing rosters, FIFO arrangements, sites or the way work is done
- You're buying or selling a business and staff are moving across
How we help: We plan the change, run the consultation and handle redundancies with attention to consultation, redeployment and genuine redundancy requirements.
Getting the foundations right
Contracts, policies and the employee lifecycle.
Employment contracts
- Your contracts are out of date, copied from somewhere else, or don't exist
- You're relying on rolling fixed-term contracts, or on 'contractors' who work like employees
- You pay annualised salaries and aren't sure they cover everything the award requires
How we help: Plain-English contracts that match the award or agreement, and the way you actually work.
Policies and procedures
- Your policies are out of date, or were never written down
- You need policies for newer obligations, like psychosocial safety, flexible work requests or after-hours contact
- Managers don't follow the policies you already have
How we help: Policies that fit your business and are written so managers actually use them.
Onboarding
- New starters get a contract, a login and not much else
- You're not sure which information statements you have to give new employees
- People are leaving in their first few months
How we help: Onboarding packs with the documents the law requires, plus what a new starter actually needs to know.
Recruitment
- You're hiring for the first time, or hiring fast for a new project
- You're not sure what you can ask in an interview, or what to check before making an offer
- Offer letters and probation reviews vary from manager to manager
How we help: A consistent, lawful hiring process, from the job ad to the offer letter to the probation review.
HR across the employee lifecycle
- You don't have an HR person, or yours is stretched
- Everyday questions keep piling up: leave, pay, performance, flexible work
- You want someone to call before small problems turn into claims
How we help: Ongoing HR and IR support for a fixed fee, from a new starter's first day to their last.
Not sure where you fit?
Tell us what’s happening. We’ll explain the next steps and agree the scope and fees before any work starts.
Contact us >