In our previous post celebrating the firm’s decade in Australia, our partners shared their insights into the most significant changes in employment and safety law that have affected leading employers. This post further explores our partners’ perspectives on the major changes and trends that they anticipate will have a major impact on Australian businesses in
A decade in Australia: Seyfarth’s partners reflect on changes in employment and workplace safety law
Seyfarth just celebrated ten years of service to leading employers in Australia. To mark the occasion, we invited some of our partners to share insights on the evolution of employment, industrial relations and workplace safety in Australia over the past ten years.
What have been the biggest changes in employment law, industrial relations and workplace
Mental health awareness and innovation – a silver lining?
The novel coronavirus pandemic has put a spotlight on the mental health of workers.
The crisis posed immediate and acute challenges for organisations and workers. In an extremely short period of time, we have all had to navigate periods of isolation and loss of social interactions, new ways of working, constantly changing health messages and
We care about machines, but will they care about us?
Our clients care deeply about innovation and technology. We know this from our engagement with clients including discussions triggered by reflecting on the findings of the CSIRO’s Workplace Safety Futures report.
Our clients care about “machines” (including “robots”, artificial intelligence, biometrics and the harnessing of big data) being developed as a result of innovation and
Safeguards, in the Fourth Industrial Revolution
It is widely proclaimed that we are in the midst of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution” (4IR). The leaps and bounds that are being made daily in information technology and biotechnology signal the end of homo sapiens or provide liberating freedom for the working masses, depending on which commentator’s view you believe.
For us,
5 years on – in human resources, industrial relations and workplace health and safety law
On 12 December 2013 Seyfarth Shaw announced our Australian offices were officially open for business. Today marks five years since those doors opened.
What better way to reflect than to ask ourselves, what have been the biggest changes in our specialist areas of law over those five years?
“It has become increasingly difficult to make
A Modern Slavery Act for Australia
The Australian Government’s inquiry into establishing a Modern Slavery Act reflects a growing domestic and international commitment to eliminate the exploitative practices of modern day slavery, and recommends new reporting and due diligence obligations for businesses operating in Australia.
Hidden in plain sight
Over 40 million people around the world are trapped in conditions of
Knock, knock… who’s there and do I have to let you in?
Does an employer have to let a union official in?
Only if they have a permit!
Right of entry disputes are common – partly because of the multiple laws that at a glance seem to overlap in a way that can be confusing. The latest chapter in this saga has recently played out in the
Industrial manslaughter – will the response to community outrage deliver results?
The community was rightly outraged by the tragic loss of life in incidents at Dreamworld and Eagle Farm. The recent legislative response to those tragedies has attracted significant media attention, with laws recently rushed through Queensland parliament, introducing new offences into the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld), the Electrical Safety Act
A word of advice, on advice
Are you getting the best advice when it comes to health and safety compliance?
When we deliver legal briefings, both in Australia and internationally, top-of-mind for Boards and Senior Executives is the health, safety and welfare of people affected by their operations. This is how it should be – so everyone breathe a collective sigh of relief (insert sigh).
When it comes to seeking commercially sound legal advice on these issues – whose advice should you be seeking?
Continue Reading A word of advice, on advice