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  • Who We Are

    • About Us

      We are Australia’s leading workplace legal and human resources solutions business. We specialise in providing you with the highest quality employment law advice. In addition, our team of human resources (HR) consultants devise smart ways to ensure that you manage your people as efficiently as possible and reduce the chances of workplace problems arising. We can also provide you with migration advice, a smart technology solution designed specifically for Australian businesses and a complete workplace management package for smaller businesses.

    • Testimonials

      At FCB Group, we focus on providing you with the best possible workplace relations and legal advisory service. This can range from providing you with straight legal advice, to drawing on our knowledge of employment law, migration law, workplace relations consulting and technology to come up with a holistic solution that will make your business more efficient and productive. We’re also responsive (meaning we understand that workplace problems don’t necessarily occur between the hours of nine and five). We’re pleased that so many of our clients agree that we’re meeting our objectives.

    • Our People

      At FCB Group, we believe it is the quality of our team of employment lawyers, workplace consultants and technology experts that separates us from our competitors. The majority of our lawyers have interdisciplinary backgrounds, meaning that they draw not only on their understanding of workplace relations law to solve your problems, but also on their knowledge of how workplaces actually operate in the real world. The team includes three accredited workplace relations specialists. In addition, our lawyers and consultants have specialist knowledge of a range of industries, including infrastructure and construction, manufacturing, health and aged care, education, retail, hospitality and leisure, and recruitment.

    • Awards

      As a practice specialising in employment law, workplace relations, and work health and safety (WHS), we are pleased to have received recognition for our work. Chambers and Partners 2015 described FCB Workplace Law as ‘a good boutique with a great reputation’. The Legal 500 Asia Pacific 2015 stated that FCB Workplace Law’s team is ‘responsive, business relevant, knowledgeable and good value for money’. FCB Workplace Law is also recognised in Best Lawyers 2017 and shortlisted for Employment Law Specialist Firm of the Year in the 2016 Australasian Law Awards.

  • Our Services

    • FCB Workplace Law

      FCB Workplace Law is Australia’s leading workplace relations law firm. We practise only in the area of employment law. We do it all day, every day. As a result, we are very good at it and, over the past 25 years, we have built one of the most highly regarded employment law practices in Australia. In terms of size, we are larger than the workplace relations teams in many of the large full-service firms. Our expertise in employment law is unparalleled and our team of lawyers includes three accredited workplace law specialists.

    • FCB HR

      FCB HR comprises an expert team of workplace relations management consultants who specialise in supporting the people managers to drive performance and establish leading management practices at every level within their business (from shop floor to boardroom). Our consultants are professionals with experience in a broad range of workforce management and HR disciplines, ensuring that we are able to provide you with sustainable and specialised solutions.

    • FCB Smart Visa

      FCB Smart Visa helps employers who need to attract and retain the best human talent in a highly competitive global marketplace. We enable clients to have peace of mind knowing they can have movement of key employees, crucial to the success of major projects, where and when they need them. We deliver timely, tailor-made, sector specific advice on all matters involving the ever-changing Australian immigration laws. Unlike other providers, FCB Smart Visa is part of FCB Group, which delivers complete people management solutions to more than 10'000 Australian businesses, including some of the country's most recognisable brand names. We have particular expertise in the areas of IT, creative industries, recruitment, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, health & aged care and sport.

    • enableHR

      enableHR is a state-of-the-art online information and management system that delivers affordable and best-practice HR and WHS processes, tools, advice and record management. Widely regarded as the most sophisticated technological workplace solution on the market, enableHR provides you with a cloud-based employee management tool that results in greater efficiency and higher productivity. It can be used by enterprises, businesses, small-to-medium sized businesses, industry organisations and not-for-profit organisations.

    • HR Assured

      HR Assured is our complete workplace relations solution for small-to-medium sized businesses. By providing you with a comprehensive human resource solution, HR Assured helps reduce the risks associated with managing people. Most importantly, it makes businesses more efficient and is also cost effective.

  • Areas of Expertise

  • Industry Focus

    • Infrastructure & Construction

      At FCB Group, we have been advising small and large businesses operating in the building, infrastructure, services and facilities management industries on workplace relations strategies and employment issues for over 20 years. Our infrastructure and construction team helps clients with the full spectrum of employment arrangements. We are also experienced in managing disputes, enterprise agreements and project contracts. If required, we can develop workplace management plans specifically tailored to this sector that streamline human resources processes and procedures for increased efficiency.

      Key Contact

      Benjamin Gee

    • Manufacturing

      At FCB Group, we are very aware that, over the past 30 years, the industry has transformed. Operators today need to develop sophisticated industrial relations strategies if they are to remain competitive. Our manufacturing team helps strengthen our clients’ businesses by advising on industrial relations governance, developing innovative enterprise bargaining agreement strategies, setting up initiatives that drive workforce engagement, developing bespoke contracts and policies, assisting with union management, defending employment claims, and managing work health and safety issues. In addition, we can help companies that recruit workers from overseas to navigate Australia’s complex migration laws.

      Key Contact

      Matthew Robinson

    • Health & Aged Care

      At FCB Group, we have specialised knowledge of the health and aged care industry in Australia. As an industry that is undergoing considerable growth, the sector is facing numerous challenges, especially in the area of people management. Our health and aged care team regularly assists clients with compliance, cultural and workforce development issues. We also advise businesses operating in this sector on recruitment and hiring (both pre-hiring and on-boarding processes), organisational change and restructuring, management of ill and injured workers, and workplace investigations. In addition, we provide assistance and advice on enterprise agreements and bargaining.

      Key Contact

      Jessica Fisher

    • Retail

      At FCB Group, we know that most retailers are finding it challenging to grow their businesses in the current economic climate. In addition, workplace laws are constantly changing, so remaining compliant can be a constant struggle. Our knowledge of the retail sector is unparalleled. We partner with the Australian Retailers Association and are currently representing a number of industry associations during the Fair Work Commission’s award review process. Our lawyers and consultants combine technical expertise with commercial pragmatism to offer long-term solutions that are specifically tailored to the requirements of retail businesses and prevent workplace issues emerging in the first place.

      Key Contact

      Nick Tindley

      Key Contact

      Bianca Seeto

    • Hospitality & Leisure

      At FCB Group, we are very aware that, as people have become more focused on the activities they enjoy away from work, the hospitality and leisure industry has grown rapidly. We also know that in an industry built around adaptable, flexible workforces, there is always the potential for workplace issues to emerge that can quickly escalate into major problems. Our hospitality and leisure team can advise on all types of statutory entitlements and remuneration, as well as develop commercially pragmatic and efficient strategies for performance management. We can also help to devise, negotiate and implement enterprise bargaining agreements. Finally, if necessary, we represent clients in all types of employment-related litigation (including unfair dismissal, bullying, breach of contract and discrimination-related claims).

      Key Contact

      Bianca Seeto

    • Recruitment

      At FCB Group, we know that the key to a successful recruitment business is satisfied workers and candidates. We also know that workplace relations and safety compliance under tripartite employment arrangements can be challenging. Our recruitment team is experienced in managing client and workforce relationships in the recruitment sector. To help recruitment businesses remain competitive, we provide strategic advice on workplace relations governance, develop processes and procedures that ensure good workforce and expectations management, draft industry-specific contracts and policies, defend employee claims and grievances, and prepare complete workplace health and safety management systems.

      Key Contact

      Campbell Fisher

    • Sports & Fitness

      FCB Group has been advising national and state sporting bodies, player associations and professional athletes for more than 20 years. In addition, FCB Group continues to enjoy a longstanding partnership with Fitness Australia and a number of key franchise businesses and individual operators, delivering innovative and practical workplace management and compliance solutions across the fitness industry.

      Key Contact

      Rod Marshall

  • Case Studies

  • The Latest from FCB

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Case Studies

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Parramatta Leagues Club

The Parramatta Leagues club is a well-known Western Sydney establishment and home of the Parramatta Eels National Rugby League team.  The Club serves as a pillar to the community, a place where locals and visitors have enjoyed excellent dining and entertainment for over 58 years. Delivering a high standard of hospitality and entertainment to members and their guests requires efficient systems to recruit and manage staff. Parramatta Leagues Club HR Advisor, Nely Moat and Corporate Services Manager, Damian Dooley, oversee HR processes and adoption of enableHR across the Club and the Parramatta Eels. At one time, they manage services for over 400 employees, contractors and volunteers at the Eels and the Leagues. As such, the company takes great care in ensuring that all HR processes and documentation for each category of staff member is compliant. To read more about Parramatta Leagues Club’s journey with enableHR, click on the image below to download the full case study....

ASX-listed Manufacturing Company

FCB has assisted a large national manufacturer to smoothly consolidate three separate sites, with three separate workforces and three separate industrial governance, into a single custom built facility. Relocating a factory is an extremely complex process in managing the logistics of the move in addition to maintaining production (if possible) and work orders. A key component in any successful manufacturing business is its people. Relocating a workforce as part of a factory relocation is highly stressful and resource intensive exercise. It requires careful planning or it risks the loss of the workforce, a huge redundancy pay bill or alternatively it may present an opportunity for disaffected employees, or Unions, to lay a series of claims on the business in return for not disrupting the whole relocation process. The background One of the 3 sites was highly unionised and contained generous conditions that were negotiated over many rounds of enterprise agreement negotiations, spanning over 15 years. The conditions were overly restrictive and if applied across the new site, it would have substantially restricted the business’ future production flexibility. Our...

Boral

CFMEU v Boral: Order for discovery of CFMEU officials’ details upheld. On 17 June 2015, the High Court of Australia dismissed an appeal by the CFMEU against a decision of the Victorian Court of Appeal (which in turn upheld an earlier decision of the Victorian Supreme Court) that the CFMEU must make available to Boral documents containing certain details about Victorian CFMEU officials. FCB Workplace Law represented Boral in this matter. The background Boral alleged that Joseph Myles, a CFMEU organiser ordered a blockade of the Regional Rail Link construction project in Footscray, Victoria on 16 May 2013. As a result of this blockade, Boral Concrete trucks were prevented from delivering concrete to the site, in contravention of an injunction issued by the Supreme Court in April 2013 ordering the CFMEU to not prevent or interfere with Boral’s delivery of its products to construction sites in Victoria. On 22 August 2013, Boral filed a summons in the Supreme Court that the CFMEU be punished for contempt of Court in relation to the blockade in contravention of the injunction. On 22 October 2013, Boral sought a discovery order that the CFMEU provide Boral with specific...

Allity

FCB helps Allity overcome union opposition. The background Allity was formed in 2013 after purchasing Lend Lease’s Primelife aged-care business for $270m. Since then, it has conducted a number of further market acquisitions, including the purchase of 10 homes in South Australia for about $140m. It is now one of the largest for-profit aged care providers nationally and is regarded as a market leader. As a result of its acquisitions, Allity had inherited a multitude of different and outdated enterprise agreements, which didn’t align with its operational models or workplace objectives. As such, it planned to embark on an extensive process of renegotiation with unions across 4 States. Unfortunately, the industrial environment – especially in Victoria – was incredibly hostile to Allity’s industrial strategy, with unions actively opposing its proposed terms and conditions and prepared to engage in significant industrial disruption to further their claims. As a large, for-profit provider, backed by private equity investors, Allity’s business model may well represent the future for aged care service provision in Australia. However, it also represents a...

Water NSW

Workplace relations strategy for Water NSW. The background Prior to 1 January 2015, State Water Corporation (SWC) operated as a state owned corporation, managing and operating bulk water infrastructure and water storage systems in NSW (outside Sydney metro). Separately, the Sydney Catchment Authority (SCA) operated as a NSW government agency, providing similar services in and around the greater Sydney metro region. In 2014, the NSW government decided on a merger of equals approach to the SWC and SCA. By Act of Parliament, on 1 January 2015 Water NSW commenced operating as an amalgam of the former SWC and SCA. The challenge In early 2014, FCB were retained to provide preliminary strategic and process advice in relation to the transaction. In September 2014, FCB were retained to develop, advise and act in relation to a workplace relations strategy that would allow Water NSW to commenced operations on 'day 1' with an integrated workforce (comprising the staff of SWC and SCA), where all terms and conditions of employment were preserved via compliant approved industrial instruments. The project involved dealing with the full range of employment and industrial...

General Practice NSW Ltd

Winding down a workforce: ending an era with grace. The background As part of a major policy reform, our client - a successful and highly regarded membership NGO - lost the entirety of its Commonwealth funding. This effectively left it without revenue and unable to continue operating beyond the end of its existing funding period. As a consequence, and during a period of significant uncertainty, the organisation needed to: transition its core service delivery functions to other industry bodies, retrench the majority of its workforce, guide and support its members through their own major workforce transitions and finally, reconstitute itself as smaller, leaner advocacy-based representative body. Our client’s workforce priorities included complying with its employee consultation obligations and minimising the risk of employee claims. Just as importantly, however, it wished to maintain the continuity of services to the broader community it supported, while reducing any negative impact on staff, members and other stakeholders. The approach FCB assisted the NGO’s leaders to plan and implement its workforce consultation and wind down strategies and...

Australian Retailers Association (ARA)

HR outsourcing partnership with the Australian Retailers Association (ARA). The background In 2009 the ARA entered into an outsourcing partnership with FCB. The partnership was the first of its kind in Australia, delivering a national service delivery model though telephone, web-based and consulting solutions. As part of this solution FCB provides approximately 650-850 telephone calls per month to ARA members. Our approach A dedicated telephone advisory line for 5,000 members to access employee relations specialists An online retail specific HR system accessible for all members to assist in legislative compliance, hiring, employee management, termination and record keeping obligations Expert employment consulting to handle the individual needs of retailers, representation and advocacy in industrial courts and tribunals on behalf of the ARA and its members Tailored publications and member communications detailing the multiple ER updates and award information. The outcome Comprehensive and specialist advice provided online or by telephone Improved and expanded member service offering assisting to enhance member retention and attract new members...

Illawarra Catholic Club

Illawarra Catholic Club Improves HR Information Management. Background Illawarra Catholic Club Ltd is a registered social and general clubs business that operates two leading venues in Hurstville and Menai under the Club Central banner. The business provides premier entertainment facilities and is a base for a number of sporting groups from netball to indoor bowls. As an important part of the St George and Menai communities, Illawarra Catholic Club supports many local charities and community groups, and annually contributes funds to these causes. Headquartered in Hurstville, Illawarra Catholic Club has a staff of 150 employees plus contractors and volunteers across its multiple venues. The club prides itself on its innovative employment relations practice, and a customer service offering that is second to none. Challenges For Illawarra Catholic Club, just like any labour intensive business in the hospitality industry, it’s critical to create and maintain an efficient workforce, and provide employees with a safe place to work. As their employees fall under a number of different award, the Club has to ensure that all employment contracts are strictly...

Greenwood Early Education Centres

Background Established a little over eighteen months ago, Greenwood Early Education Centres (Greenwood) offers an exciting, innovative and fresh proposition in the Australian childcare landscape. With a vision of providing the highest quality care and education in early childhood, Greenwood is passionate about providing children with the tools they need to be successful in all aspects of their lives. Greenwood is also committed to being an employer of choice with a focus on employee engagement and recognition. With a Support Office in Gladesville, Greenwood opened its first early education centre in Concord in March this year. Additional centres in the Sydney metropolitan area at Macquarie Park, Brookvale, and Bronte have also been earmarked for opening later this year. The business currently employs 37 individuals across a number of childhood teaching and junior educator roles along with support staff, a chefs and specialist Partners such as a nutritionists, Yoga Teacher, as well as Education Experts Greenwood plans to increase its labour force to 200 over the next two years. Challenges When Malcolm Honey joined Greenwood last year, the company had solid HR...

Super Retail Group

Aligned Partnership With Super Retail Group. The background Super Retail Group is a large, well established and respected retail establishment with approximately 12,000 employees across the entire group. Home to brands such as Amart Sports, Avanti Fitness, BCF Boating Camping Fishing, Goldcross Cycles, Rays, Rebel, Supercheap Auto, Workout World and Super Retail Commercial, the group has operations in Australia, New Zealand and China. Given the size and publically listed nature of the organisation, Super Retail Group has taken great steps towards embedding their corporate values across the organisation which is at the centre of all people management strategies. FCB has worked with Super Retail Group since 2013 on all of their workplace relations matters and from the outset it has been a true partnership of shared values and a common understanding in terms of how matters should be approached. Upon the commencement of our partnership we have taken a great deal of time in gaining a fundamental understanding of Super Retail Group’s structure, corporate values, mode of operation, and approach to workplace relations matters. It is no coincidence that taking the...

Financial Institutions

Move to single authorised deposit taking institution. The background In 2008, merger negotiations between two Immigration Compliance Associated with Merger got underway in a move towards a single ADI. Each bank had a significant sponsored expatriate population and attendant obligations under Australia’s immigration law framework. The brief The clients’ risk and compliance considerations needed to be managed through a dense weave of corporate, employment, financial and migration legislation. The brief, given to Alex Kaufman, was to meticulously time the transfers and have the clients and their sponsored transferees emerge from the process without enlivening employer sanctions, or incurring any breaches on the part of the visa holders or sponsors. The solution The team conducted a thorough audit on both institutions’ expatriate workforce. This required an assessment of raw expat numbers, nationalities, remuneration structure, position nomenclature for each of the home and target institutions, promotions since commencement, changes in family composition, renewals or variations to contractual terms and visa expiry. We then prepared a suite of...

Solotel

Solotel manages risk and compliance with enableHR. Prominent hospitality group, Solotel, has transformed the management of its employees by using enableHR to resolve its HR/IR compliance risk across its 19 hotels and restaurants. Previously, the group operations manager had to physically visit sites to assist venue managers with managing their employees, now with enableHR, the 19 sites in the Solotel group can be managed remotely, freeing up the operations manager to focus on higher level support for managers. enableHR, with its web based architecture, provides venue managers with an easy to use solution that allows them to manage employees through al stages of their employment lifecycle and workplace health and safety incidents. Swift expansion requires flexible approach Solotel has been operating bars and pubs for 24 years and possesses a diverse portfolio of hospitality venues committed to providing high quality hospitality and service. Solotel creates unique establishments that cater to different markets, localities and customers, including the spectacularly stylish Opera Bar, the Parisian styled Quay Bar and the Eastern Suburbs institution, The...

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