Tom Brett
PartnerBiography
Tom is a Partner in the Disputes + Investigations team who specialises in employment law and industrial relations. Tom brings a pragmatic solutions-based approach that is highly attuned to balancing legal, commercial and people-based issues in the workplace. He has deep expertise in termination matters and disputes (including executive terminations), enterprise agreement making and transfer of business issues, workplace investigations into discrimination, sexual harassment, misconduct and serious safety incidents, employee data breaches and post-employment restraint enforcement.
Tom’s practice includes advising clients across the full scope of employment law and industrial relations, including large listed organisations, private equity clients and those in the financial services sector. Tom regularly appears in the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, the Federal Court of Australia and the Fair Work Commission (including but not limited to appellate jurisdictions, general protections, unfair dismissal and discrimination-based claims).
Experience
Tom's experience includes:
- Termination/Restructuring/ Redundancy, assisting clients on major workplace restructuring projects and to performance manage and terminate staff (particularly in relation to executive terminations) without adverse legal consequence, including the management/resolution of workplace performance, grievances and disputes.
- Transactions, including the transfer of business issues and strategic industrial relations advice arising from mergers and acquisitions, restructuring and insolvencies, privatisation, outsourcing and insourcing.
- Disputes, involving acting in all forms of employment litigation, including general protections claims, confidential information and IP theft, wrongful dismissal and other breach of contract claims, unfair dismissal, adverse action, bullying, discrimination and sexual harassment, work health and safety (including serious workplace fatalities and injuries) and small claims.
- Investigations, which involve conducting investigations on behalf of employers and advising on allegations of employee misconduct, conflict of interest, discrimination, whistleblowing, sexual harassment and bullying.
- Corporate governance, providing advice on Corporations Act and Listing Rules related issues, including termination benefits limitations, director access to records and indemnities, remuneration related matters and disclosure obligations.
- Employment Advisory, providing advice on all aspects of employment law including theft of confidential information, breach of contract, employee misconduct, employee and executive terminations, Fair Work Act, award and enterprise agreement compliance, and work health and safety legislation compliance.