With the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression upon us, redundancy is a sad inevitability of COVID-19.

No one enjoys making employees redundant, but in the middle of a pandemic when the job market is competitive, and many families are doing it tough? That makes it a lot harder. Here are some tips to help you navigate the risks and complexities of making employees redundant through a pandemic.…

I was a sceptic. I was wrong

I was wrong. If you’d asked me in January 2020 what I thought of virtual mediation, I would have said “It can work, but really it’s a last resort”. However, after conducting multiple facilitated conversations through online platforms, I am prepared to put my hand up and admit it, “I was…

$664,601.38 payout!

A staggering amount was awarded to an employee for breach of the General Protections – a substantial portion of this was assigned to the difficulty the applicant would have in obtaining employment in the current COVID-19, pandemic effected environment.

TheFederal Circuit Court (FCC) has recently awarded an employee compensation to the tune of over $650,000 due to breaches of the general protection provisions of…

Workplace Sexual Harassment 2020 – Recently it was reported on the ABC that Workplace sexual harassment reports are rising during coronavirus and working from home may be a reason. 

The article stated, coronavirus, working from home and recent high-profile cases are encouraging more women to come forward and revealing the true extent of Australia’s sexual harassment problem, authorities have said that Law firms say they are being swamped with workplace sexual harassment…

A key component of our service offering is to assist our clients to meet the legislative requirements in managing their people.  Here we share two recent legislative updates which have had potentially far-reaching implications for employers. 

Personal Leave – What Defines a ‘Day’?

Employers would be…

You can define success in workplace conflict

Success in workplace conflict comes in many shapes and sizes.  Sometimes it is two people walking out from a conversation ‘holding hands’ – socially distanced of course!  Other times there is an acknowledgement and agreement to new ways of working together,…

At some point in a mediation, one person will ‘shift’ from presenting and defending their perspective to genuinely acknowledging the hurt, frustration, loss or other feeling of pain being expressed by the other.

To ‘move’ from a place of focusing only on one’s own opinions and perspectives, a place that has been a type of sanctuary for certainty and therefore comfort, requires one to lower their defenses and to step outside of their view of the past, which they may…

It's not easy to be unique and special in the world of business. When people focus on success, they can forget that one of the thongs that will make you more successful than ever is the originality. Whatever you do, you need to keep it in mind that your brand should be something…

Zandy and I were lucky enough last week to attend a global forum hearing Jim Collins of Good to Great fame. There were so many poignant messages for us all during this time of global uncertainty. However, there was one overpowering classic Collins idea that is just so applicable…

Serious misconduct - In light of the Ivance Cuculoski v Australian Transit Group T/A Buswest [2020] FWC 3361 (30 June 2020) decision at the Fair Work Commission, I think it's time to review Serious Misconduct and Summary Dismissal. Full case here

Summary dismissal is dismissal without notice. It does not require advance notice to the…

One of the first questions I ask for when I am engaged to conduct a workplace investigation is can you send me your bullying or behavioural polices and and any Code of Conduct or other policies.



The reason I ask for this is that I frame any allegations against the person subject of any complaint based on potential breaches of your policies or Code of Conduct.



The policies I receive come a a variety of forms, but one of the elements I like…

Fantastic to talk to Dr Melanie Irons about "The psychological dimensions of working from home and returning employees to the workplace after a crisis" on the latest episode of the HR Breakfast Club Podcast.

Traditionally, the ability…

Donald Trump recently claimed he was joking when he asked staff to slow down coronavirus testing, asserting that ‘by having more tests, we have more cases.’ Whilst you can’t question the logic, it’s assumed that most experts would believe this to be a very short-sighted approach – by testing fewer people, reported cases will decrease, but this does not mean they do not exist. Much like in any scenario – from relationships to health issues to workplaces, ignoring a problem…