Join Professor Catherine Bennett, Deakin’s Chair of Epidemiology and Holman Webb Workplace Relations Partner Alicia Mataere and Associate Lee Pike on Thursday 26 August as they discuss:

• How has Delta changed the game?
• How can businesses manage the risk of Delta in the workplace?
• Can you ask employees to declare their vaccination status?
• What are the potential consequences of a Delta outbreak in your workplace?
• What will the workplace look like following COVID-19 and Delta?

Click through to register your attendance today!

Workplace Relations Partner Alicia Mataere recently presented to members of the Association of Corporate Counsel on the topic of Casual Employment Recent Changes, Compliance, Enterprise Bargaining and Award Flexibility.

Click through to view the webinar recording.

In the lengthy Federal Court judgment in Transport Workers Union of Australia v Qantas Airways Limited 2021 FCA 873 delivered on 30 July 2021, Lee J found that Qantas took adverse action when it made over 2,000 workers redundant, and that the airline could not prove that its reasons for doing so were not prohibited by the Fair Work Act 2009. 

The consequences of the breach are yet to be determined.

In light of the recent extended lockdown in Sydney, and the new short lockdown in Melbourne, the question again arises in relation to whether an employer can require its workers to be vaccinated against the COVID‑19 virus.

There are a myriad of discretionary issues for an employer to step through in determining whether it can direct its workers to be vaccinated; as well as what steps an employer can take if the worker refuses to follow such a direction.

Holman Webb Lawyers is proud to relay that the firm has been listed as a finalist in two categories in the Lawyers Weekly Australian Law Awards 2021:

• Law Firm of the Year
• Insurance Team of the Year

Click through for more information on this year's finalists, and upcoming winner announcements.

An Arbitrator in the Personal Injury Commission has found that a worker, who sustained psychiatric injury when her employer stood her down during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, was not entitled to compensation.

Recently, an employer's non-delegable duty to take reasonable steps to protect an employee from psychiatric harm was re-examined in Zagi Kozarov v State of Victoria [2020] VSC 78. 

Holman Webb is delighted to announce ten promotions across our Sydney and Melbourne offices. 

BEYOND BLUE Workplace Engagement Manager, Michael O'Hanlon, joins Adriana Giometti to discuss both the effect that COVID-19 has had on the Australian workforce, and what Beyond Blue is doing to help.

As a result of the current COVID-19 pandemic, many (if not most) employers have directed their employees to work from home.  With this in mind, it is crucial for employers to understand that their overriding obligation to provide employees with a safe workplace has not changed.