Employment Law
Business & Commercial
Employment Law Specialists
Practical, Business-Focused Employment Law Advice
At Burgess Thomson, we provide clear, commercially minded employment law guidance for employers and executives across Newcastle and the Hunter. Our team of experienced employment law lawyers drafts, reviews and negotiates every type of employment contract and employment agreement, and advises on award coverage, the National Employment Standards, enterprise bargaining and day-to-day compliance. If you want employment law documents that work in the real world (not just on paper) we can help.
Why Your Documents Matter
A generic template rarely fits a live workplace. Role design, incentive plans, confidentiality and IP, restraints, flexible work, policies, and safety obligations all intersect, and mistakes are costly. We craft tailored employment contract provisions so your business has the right levers to recruit, manage performance and exit fairly. Our employment contract lawyers align your paperwork with employment law obligations and your commercial goals.
Contracts, Agreements And Enterprise Instruments
We advise across the full spectrum:
- Employment contracts: casual, part-time, full-time, fixed-term and senior executive
- Employment agreements: with incentive plans, STI/LTI, bonuses and ESOP/ESS links
- Policies and handbooks: code of conduct, bullying and harassment, social media, leave and WHS
- Award interpretation: including National Employment Standards compliance
- Enterprise bargaining and the mechanics of a registered employment agreement (commonly called a registered enterprise agreement with the Fair Work Commission)
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What A Robust Employment Contract Should Cover
Our employment law specialists make sure your employment agreement is complete, enforceable and easy to use. Typical inclusions:
- Position and reporting lines, location and mobility
- Hours, remuneration and incentives, superannuation, loadings and allowances
- Probation and performance management processes
- Confidential information, IP and moral rights assignments
- Conflict of interest and post-employment restraints suited to role and geography
- Work health and safety acknowledgements and training duties
- Flexible work and remote and hybrid settings
- Leave entitlements consistent with awards and the NES
- Termination and redundancy notice, serious misconduct, garden leave
- Set-off clauses to manage above-award payments (where lawful)
Because every workforce is different, we balance protection with practicality. That is the hallmark of effective employment law drafting.
Day-To-Day Employment Law Advice
We provide on-call, plain-English employment law advice for HR and business leaders, including:
- Award coverage and classification queries
- Independent contractor vs employee risk
- Performance management and disciplinary processes
- Fitness for work, injury management and reasonable adjustments
- Parental leave and flexible work requests
- Bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment responses (POSH obligations)
- Managing ill or injured workers, capability and inherent requirements
- Consultation obligations for change/downsizing and genuine redundancy
- Settlement deeds, exits and release wording
When you need a pragmatic view from employment law lawyers who understand operations and risk, we give you the options, the consequences and the recommended path.
Enterprise Bargaining And Company-Wide Settings
For larger employers, company succession planning often intersects with workforce structure, but so too does enterprise bargaining. We design bargaining strategies, represent you in meetings and draft the registered employment agreement terms to meet statutory tests.
Post-approval, we train managers and HR so the instrument is applied correctly. If a review is needed, an employment agreement lawyer can manage variations, undertakings or re-lodgement.
Disputes, Investigations and Exits
From grievances to serious misconduct, our employment law team conducts or oversees investigations, prepares findings and drafts outcome letters that withstand scrutiny. We manage show-cause processes, performance warnings and termination steps, reducing the risk of unfair dismissal, adverse action or discrimination claims. Where matters escalate, our employment law lawyers represent clients in the Commission or courts and negotiate practical settlements.
Why Burgess Thomson?
- Commercially grounded: we give employment law solutions that work in the real world.
- Clear documents: plain English employment agreements managers can actually use.
- Responsive: fast turnaround when a decision can’t wait.
- Integrated: contracts, policies and (if needed) your registered employment agreement all aligned.
Speak To Newcastle’s Employment Law Lawyers
Whether you need one airtight employment contract, a full suite of employment agreements, or help negotiating a registered employment agreement, our employment law team is ready to assist.
Talk to Burgess Thomson for trusted employment law guidance from experienced employment law lawyers, and get paperwork that protects your people, your brand and your bottom line.
FAQ's
What is in the National Employment Standards?
It is best you read these standards in full so you understand the obligations of you as an employer. Generally, the standards are set by the Fair Work Ombudsman and lists 11 minimum employment entitlements. These entitlements include, maximum weekly hours, annual leave, public holidays, parental leave and other important entitlements.
When are duties implied?
Duties may be implied in a few different ways. Providing a safe work environment is a duty implied by law. Duties may also be implied by customs of the industry, or where they are necessary for the reasonable operation of the employment.
What if I breach my duties?
If you breach your duties to employees there can be variable consequences that depend on the circumstances of the breach. For example, you could be liable to a severe monetary penalty, court proceedings, and/or termination of your employment, for example.