How we helped: Firstly, we got to know this business and its workplace culture well. Working from this base, Devine Law at Work has worked with Company X on a wide range of industrial issues in the previous 12 months, including how to:

• manage industrial disputes;
• handle a very difficult employee, who was not only a union delegate but one who engaged in repeated misconduct;
• develop and implement a procedure which led to termination of employees which protected the Company against expensive litigation; and
• develop a working relationship with a union, to enable Company X to get on with business.

Comment: The General Manager of Company X said that, as tough a process as it had been, he and the Company have learned a great deal in the 12 months about how to manage industrial issues. They appreciated having Devine Law at Work as a partner to guide them through

How we helped: We worked closely with the Human Resources Manager (“HRM”) to design a customised seminar workshop that addressed both the identified issues as well as those which the Company X not know it needed to know about. This was called “The Law at Work – how to get the most out of your employees and keep the law on your side”. A top priority of the HRM was the need to have the seminar workshop run over one day only. Other providers provided the same information over two days and the HRM knew that anything this long would not interest the managers. We met the terms of the Company’s brief, providing a highly interactive and dynamic workshop in one day.

Comment: The HRM’s efforts were rewarded with energised managers. She told us that she was “basking in the glory” generated by the buzz from the seminar workshop we provided.

Feedback from the participants included the following:

• “It opened my eyes to the rights and responsibilities of employers and employees”.
• “Excellent training for managers and their responsibilities”.
• “Raised awareness of important workplace issues”.
• “Learnt a lot about terminations and injured employees – very topical”.

How we helped: We identified that the resignation letter was a ‘set up’ by the employee for a constructive dismissal claim (where the employee claims that s/he had ‘no choice’ but to resign). The best opportunity an employer has to head off litigation is before the employee leaves the workplace, so we immediately recommended that action be taken to work through the employee’s grievances with him. No one within the Company was prepared to do this themselves, so we offered the service of workplace mediation. We then worked through the issues between the employee and his manager, over the course of several hours. While the two did not walk away as friends, they were able to reach agreement on many things, including an outcome they could both live with. The employee chose to proceed with his resignation, but confirmed he would not litigate. The manager got back to work, having increased his skills in managing workplace conflict.

Comment: The employee expressed appreciation that he had been able to air his grievances and the manager was glad to have had a guide through a very sticky matter. Company X appreciated having a partner to guide them through and protect them from litigation. Intervention by a skilled and independent third party can bring an employer ‘back from the brink’ of costly litigation. At times the working relationships within an organisation can be so under stress that an outsider can be often be of great assistance to everyone involved.

How we helped: Devine Law at Work investigated the grievance, assessed the information we obtained and reached a conclusion on whether the complaint was substantiated or not. We then provided a very detailed report to the CEO which included quite detailed recommendations. Our method ensured compliance with all relevant workplace and work-related laws, including anti-discrimination legislation, occupational health and safety legislation, unfair dismissal legislation and contract law.

Devine Law at Work was then asked to provide services which implemented the recommendations we had made to the CEO, including providing training to managers throughout Company X and developing a system to ‘test’ the effectiveness of that training on an ongoing basis.

Comment: Company X now understands that while policies and procedures are a good first step, the test of their effectiveness is whether or not its employees truly understand their meaning and apply that understanding. While the investigation revealed a lack of understanding amongst many employees about the Company’s sexual harassment policy, Company X had cause to congratulate itself that its workplace culture had encouraged an otherwise vulnerable employee to take a stand against a very serious case of sexual harassment.

How we helped: We provided Company X with detailed but practical advice about what can often be a challenging workplace issue. This involved first helping the Company understand the range of laws which can apply (including anti-discrimination legislation, occupational health and safety legislation, both state and federal industrial legislation and also workers compensation legislation), then advising them on how those laws applied to this case and making recommendations about how they could steer their way through the matter to ensure they complied with what can often appear to be conflicting laws while achieving their other business objectives.

Comment: Company X complimented Devine Law at Work on explaining – in an easy to understand manner – a range of laws which it had previously either not known about or been confused by. By taking the steps we recommended, Company X was able to take action, confident that it was protecting itself from litigation. Company X also raised its awareness of several laws and enhanced its knowledge of some effective strategies, which meant it was better armed to deal with both the immediate matter and any which arise in the future.