K&L Gates

K&L Gates acts for management-side clients across the full employment life cycle, from day to day advice through to defending employers against individual and class claims.

• Day to day employment advice: handbooks, employment agreements and human resources audits, with counsel on discipline and termination, leave entitlements and adjustments for disability.
• Workforce change and transactions: workforce reductions, restructuring and redundancy, and the employment issues arising when a business expands, reduces or relocates a workforce.
• Disputes and claims: defending individual and class claims covering unfair dismissal, discrimination, harassment and bullying, victimisation, whistleblower claims, leave entitlements and underpayment, in court and arbitration.
• Restraints and workplace investigations: enforcing and defending restrictive covenants including non-compete and non-solicitation agreements, protecting trade secrets, and running internal workplace investigations.

Best for: Australian and multinational employers wanting employment counsel from a global firm with offices in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.

K&L Gates runs a distinct workplace safety practice whose lawyers work with businesses in Australia on workplace safety law.

• Compliance and policy: preparing workplace health and safety policies and compliance programs, with strategies for accident prevention and in-house training.
• Incident response: advising on rights and responsibilities when an incident occurs, and liaising with safety regulators, police and other responders.
• Regulator engagement: dealing with regulators to limit the effect of an incident on business continuity and reputation, and protecting directors and managers.

Best for: employers needing safety counsel after a workplace incident.