Employment Lawyers for Employers Melbourne

Employment law advice for employers can cover drafting and reviewing employment contracts, managing underperformance or misconduct, responding to Fair Work Commission claims, conducting workplace investigations, interpreting awards and enterprise agreements, and maintaining compliance with the Fair Work Act and National Employment Standards.

Hentys provides commercially focused employment law advice for employers, business owners and HR teams.

Employment law advice focuses on an employer’s legal rights, obligations and representation in workplace disputes or formal proceedings.

Industrial relations consulting can also include workforce planning, enterprise bargaining, award interpretation and practical day-to-day workplace guidance. Hentys provides both services, giving employers one point of contact for legal and industrial relations matters.

Employment contracts, workplace policies, pay practices and management procedures should be reviewed regularly to ensure they remain consistent with current awards, enterprise agreements, the Fair Work Act and the National Employment Standards.

A workplace compliance review can identify risks before they result in employee complaints, underpayment claims or formal proceedings.

Act promptly and obtain legal advice before responding. Fair Work matters are often subject to strict deadlines, and early advice allows your business to preserve relevant evidence, assess its legal position and prepare an appropriate response.

Hentys assists employers through conciliation, hearings and other stages of Fair Work Commission proceedings.

A performance meeting should clearly identify the concerns being discussed, provide specific examples, explain the required standard and give the employee a genuine opportunity to respond.

The discussion should generally include:

• Clear examples of performance concerns
• The standards or expectations that apply
• Measurable improvement objectives
• A reasonable timeframe for improvement
• Available support or training
• Accurate documentation of the discussion

Termination should generally follow a fair and structured performance management process. Employees should ordinarily be informed of the performance concerns, given an opportunity to respond and provided with a reasonable opportunity to improve.

Terminating employment without a proper process may expose the business to unfair dismissal, general protections or other employment-related claims. Legal advice should be obtained before a final termination decision is made.

Remain professional and allow the employee to explain their position. The employer should consider the response objectively, address any factual disagreement and document what was discussed.

Where the disagreement continues or the matter may lead to disciplinary action, employment law advice can help ensure the next steps are reasonable and legally defensible.

An employer may ask an employee to sign a document confirming that a performance discussion occurred or that they received the document. However, an employee may decline to sign it.

If they refuse, record the refusal and provide the employee with an opportunity to submit a written response. The document should not suggest agreement where the employee has only acknowledged receipt.

Employers should seek advice before making decisions that could significantly affect an employee’s employment, particularly when managing termination, redundancy, misconduct, workplace investigations, disciplinary action or extended underperformance.

Early legal advice can reduce the risk of procedural errors and help protect the business before a dispute develops.

Employers face different legal, commercial and operational risks to employees. A firm focused on representing employers can provide advice, processes and litigation strategies designed specifically to protect businesses and workplace decision-makers.

Hentys acts for employers and provides advice that considers compliance, operational continuity, commercial risk and the potential impact of employment decisions.

Many workplace disputes can be addressed through early intervention, direct negotiation, mediation or a structured internal resolution process.

Resolving a dispute early may reduce legal costs, limit workplace disruption and preserve important employment or commercial relationships.

A fair and defensible performance management process will generally involve:

• Clearly explaining the performance concerns
• Providing specific and objective examples
• Giving the employee an opportunity to respond
• Setting reasonable and measurable expectations
• Providing an appropriate improvement period
• Keeping detailed records of each step
• Obtaining advice before considering termination

A witness is not required for every performance meeting, but it can be helpful to have an HR representative or another appropriate manager present where the concerns are serious or disciplinary action may follow.

The additional attendee can help document what was said and provide support throughout the process.

Employers should carefully consider and generally accommodate a reasonable request for a support person during a meeting that may result in disciplinary action or termination.

The support person is generally present to support the employee, rather than act as their advocate or answer questions on their behalf. Employers should explain the person’s role at the beginning of the meeting.