REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE
Stephen Hardy
Employment Relations
Advising clients on all aspects of employment and business protection related issues, including employment contracts, board and executive issues, employment entitlements, remuneration arrangements including equity incentive arrangements, termination of employment, proper performance management processes, discrimination, harassment, bullying and equal employment opportunity issues, workplace policies, procedures and systems, post-employment restraints, intellectual property and confidentiality issues.
Advising clients on employment aspects of major corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, initial public offerings and listing on the ASX, both locally and cross-border.
Advising clients including managers, receivers and liquidators on transmission of business, restructuring of business operations, entering and/or exiting the Australian market, redundancy claims and entitlements (including entitlement audits and employee and union disputation).
Conducting confidential and highly sensitive workplace investigations on a range of issues including workplace fraud, bullying, discrimination and harassment (including sexual harassment) and regulatory compliance issues for a range of clients.
Leading the provision of employment/HR advice across the Asia Pacific region and globally for global institutional clients.
Conducting employment/HR related training both within Australia and within the Asia Pacific region to institutional clients and at conferences arranged by third party organisations.
Occupational Health and Safety (OHS), Work Health and Safety (WHS), Regulatory Investigations and Coronial Inquiries
Advising clients on a wide range of OHS/WHS issues arising under state and territory OHS/WHS legislation.
Developing and implementing OHS/WHS policies, procedures and systems to ensure compliance with OHS/WHS legislation and regulations.
Advising a range of clients respond to sensitive regulatory investigations by OHS/WHS regulators, and Roads and Maritime Services Regulators (including in the manufacturing, construction, waste, mining, insurance and leisure industries).
Advising a range of clients in the manufacturing, waste, leisure and mining industries in their response to significant workplace incidents (including fatalities in certain instances) and leading these companies’ responses to those incidents including with respect to the companies’ internal investigations, crisis management and recovery plans and regulatory investigations into these incidents.
Advising a global manufacturer on a range of regulatory issues and disputes associated with the manufacture and supply of certain electrical equipment to solar farms across Australia.
Advising various mining services providers in relation to OHS/WHS compliance matters across Australia.
Advising a global mining accommodation provider in relation to its OHS/WHS system across New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia (and auditing that system in conjunction with a third party consultant).
Preparing detailed legal reports of OHS/WHS risks and potential liability under OHS/WHS legislation and regulations including practical recommendations for minimising risk.
Conducting a number of major, in-depth OHS/WHS audits and compliance reviews for organisations across a wide range of industries including banking, finance, insurance, mining accommodation, manufacturing, flour and bioethanol production industries.
Advising on obligations and potential liability of directors and other officers, including conducting training sessions to boards of directors for local and global institutional clients, and auditing compliance with due diligence obligations.
Conducting OHS/WHS investigations on behalf of clients (including following significant workplace incidents and fatalities).
Advising on statutory notices and other enforcement action taken by regulatory authorities including SafeWork New South Wales, WorkSafe Victoria, WorkSafe Western Australia, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, Energy Safe Victoria, Electrical Safety Office and the Department of Natural Resources (formerly the Department of Natural Resources, Mines and Energy).
Leading the provision of regional and global WHS advice (including in response to the COVID-19 pandemic) for clients in the information technology, retail, manufacturing, insurance, pharmaceutical industries.
Conducting OHS/WHS training to workers and officers across a number of states and territories in Australia.
Conducting regional OHS/WHS training sessions in collaboration with colleagues across the Asia Pacific region.
Advising on various workers’ compensation matters in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.
Industrial Relations
Advising a wide range of clients across various industries (including manufacturing, waste, leisure, construction and mining) on industrial relations strategy, disputes and trade union issues.
Negotiating and drafting industrial instruments (enterprise agreements) across a wide range of industries on strategic industrial relations matters, the agreement making process (including in relation to good faith bargaining) and responding to disputes (including majority support determinations and protected ballot applications and protected industrial action) for these clients.
Litigation and Coronial Inquests
Seeking urgent equitable relief for major clients in relation to breaches of restraints of trade, fiduciary and confidentiality obligations in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
Defending restraint of trade, breach of fiduciary and confidentiality obligation proceedings in the Supreme Court of New South Wales and Federal Court of Australia.
Conducting proceedings in the Supreme Court of NSW and Federal Court of Australia in relation to a major shareholder and executive disputes.
Advising and representing a global waste company in relation to OHS/WHS compliance issues, regulator investigations and subsequent legal proceedings, including a coronial inquest, prosecutions and other enforcement action.
Advising Ardent Leisure in its response to multiple fatalities at its Dreamworld Theme Park and leading the company’s response to the tragic incident including with respect to an internal investigation, the regulatory investigation, coronial inquest and regulatory prosecution.
Appearing on behalf of a range of clients in unfair dismissal proceedings before the Fair Work Commission.
Appearing for various clients in relation to sham contracting, misclassification, adverse action, discrimination, underpayment claims and proceedings in the Federal Circuit Court.
Appearing as advocate during a coronial inquiry in NSW.
Defending various OHS/WHS prosecutions brought by regulatory authorities in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.
Defending unfair dismissal claims, unfair contract claims, breach of contract claims before State and Federal Courts and tribunals.
Representing clients in various tribunals on industrial relations disputes (including in the Fair Work Commission, the Federal Circuit Court, the Federal Court and the New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission).
Defending proceedings in relation to allegations of breach of post-employment restrictions, misleading and deceptive conduct and breaches of Australia Consumer Law (formerly Trade Practices legislation).
Conducting appeal proceedings in the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission and the Queensland Industrial Court in relation to a workers’ compensation claim.
Appearing in discrimination proceedings in State and Federal tribunals.
Appearing in owner driver disputes in the New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission.
