Employment: Western Australia
Asia-Pacific Guide 2025 : Australia
Band 3
Email address
[email protected]Contact number
+61 2 9258 6000About
Provided by Ashurst
Department: Employment
Partners in this department: 12
No of employees in department: 68
Ashurst's Employment practice has been a leader in the Australian market for over 20 years.
Led by Stephen Woodbury, the practice includes the highly respected Ian Humphreys and Jennie Mansfield and enjoys a depth of experience through its Senior Statesmen Adrian Morris, Helen McKenzie, Richard Bunting and Rob Lilburne. Other key members include Jane Harvey, Jon Lovell and James Hall.
We assist clients in all aspects of workplace relations; employment, executive remuneration and benefits, industrial relations, workplace safety, discrimination and workplace training, including:
- Wage underpayment compliance: Advising large companies (including Woolworths and Qantas) about rectification programs to identify and rectify past underpayments, negotiate enforceable undertakings with the Fair Work Ombudsman, and embed compliance for the future.
- Industrial relations, enterprise bargaining and class actions: Advising leading employers including Airservices and Workpac to unlock productivity through enterprise bargaining, and dealing with industrial action, union strategies and class actions.
- Work Health and Safety: Advising many public and private sector employers on safety incidents, coronial inquiries and fatalities and addressing their Boards about WHS duties.
- Workplace investigations: Advising on and conducting investigations for clients including AGL and Qantas.
Chambers Review
Ashurst has a well-resourced employment group with an impressive reputation for large-scale industrial relations disputes and major company restructurings. The team is called upon by many of Australia's largest energy and transport companies for its expertise in developing enterprise bargaining agreements. It is well placed to represent clients in employee class actions and in disputes with unions. The firm acts for major clients on the employment aspects of M&A and compliance, and advises employers on health and safety issues.
Work Highlights
- Ashurst assisted AGL to develop a workforce transition strategy and plan to
- support employees through the closure of LIddell Power Station, including arrangements for redeployment.
Strengths
Provided by Chambers
"Their commercial awareness is extremely good, and this is one of their clear strengths. They have a fantastic understanding of our business and our priorities."
"I always trust the Ashurst team to deliver the right response."
"They look beyond the legal aspects of a matter to consider the real-life impact and practicalities of the situation when providing advice."
"Their commercial awareness is extremely good, and this is one of their clear strengths. They have a fantastic understanding of our business and our priorities."
"I always trust the Ashurst team to deliver the right response."
"They look beyond the legal aspects of a matter to consider the real-life impact and practicalities of the situation when providing advice."
Notable Practitioners
Helen McKenzie continues to be highly respected for her extensive experience advising across a wide range of employment issues, including investigations, underpayments and industrial disputes.
Robert Lilburne has over two decades of experience acting for mining and shipping companies on a wide range of employment matters including collective bargaining and industrial relations disputes.
Ian Humphreys has a strong reputation for industrial relations disputes.
"Ian Humphreys is easy to work with, commercial and an excellent communicator who goes above and beyond for us."
"Ian's practical insight is outstanding."
Lea Constantine is well known in the work health and safety space and acts for a range of public and private sector clients on compliance, investigations and prosecutions relating to serious workplace incidents.
"Lea Constantine has excellent knowledge of the NSW and Work Health and Safety landscape."
"Lea is the market leader in health and safety."
James Hall is a well-regarded employment lawyer in Queensland who is particularly known for assisting clients in the coal industry.
"He understands our business, and we have full trust that his advice is tailored to our needs."
Scarlet Reid is well regarded in the market for her depth of knowledge in workplace health and safety. She often advises government clients on complex regulatory topics as well as on high-profile and fatal workplace incidents.
Stephen Woodbury acts for prominent international and domestic companies on industrial relations strategies and enterprise bargaining.
"If you're ever in a crisis, or dealing with something hugely sensitive, Stephen Woodbury is the person you would go to."
Jennie Mansfield advises on a range of compliance matters, including award compliance and repayment programmes, with a particular focus on the financial and insurance sectors.
"Jenny Mansfield is excellent; she's deeply responsive and a pleasure to work with."
"Jennie's an amazing lawyer who possesses great commercial acumen: she's able to cut through to find commercial outcomes."
Jon Lovell is a Melbourne-based employment partner. He advises a string of notable clients on matters including enterprise bargaining, industrial relations and employment disputes.
"Jon Lovell's attention to detail is really impressive; he has good eye for legal strategy and is able to manage a diverse client base in a really impressive way due to those skills."
"Jon is a true partner to the business and fantastic to work with - I could not recommend him more."
Ranked Lawyers at
Ashurst
Australia
Members
Provided by Ashurst
Elissa Speight
James Hall
Jane Harvey
Jon Lovell
Julia Sutherland
Kathy Srdanovic
Paul Vane-Tempest
Head of Department
Trent Sebbens