Erin Kidd

General Employment and HR Advisory and Compliance

• Assisting numerous multinational employers, many without local HR or legal teams, with all aspects of employment-related issues, including the development of Australian employment contracts and policies, and termination of employees, including senior executives.
• Advising numerous multinational employers, including a multinational renewable energy company, on matters regarding remote workforces and international secondments of employees.
• Advising a multinational technology company on the management of an employee who had been the subject of various workplace complaints, as well as having made workplace complaints and a workers compensation claim.
• Advising a large insurance company on the management of an employee with long-term absenteeism.

Litigation

• Acting for a multinational environmental services company in defending a general protections claim made by an existing employee who alleged being subjected to adverse action as a result of having made a workplace complaint and having carer’s responsibilities.
• Acting for a manufacturing company in Federal Circuit Court proceedings alleging underpayment of employee entitlements, which were commenced on behalf of a former employee by the union.

Post-employment Restraints

• Acting for an education technology company in respect of enforcing the post-employment restraint obligations of a former employee who had resigned to commence work with a direct competitor.
• Advising a media and advertising executive looking to establish a new agency on various restraints, including those arising under their employment agreement, a shareholders agreement and a business sale agreement.
• Acting for an energy supply company in respect of enforcing the post-employment restraints of a senior executive who had been attempting to solicit customers following the termination of his employment.

Workplace Investigations

• Acting as the investigator in respect of a complaint made by the employee of a not-for-profit organisation alleging bullying and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation by the employee’s manager.
• Acting as the investigator in respect of a complaint of misconduct made by a student against an educator in a registered training organisation.
• Acting as the investigator in an independent investigation for a large property company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). The complaint of bullying and harassment against an employee was made through the organisation’s anonymous whistleblowing service.

Discrimination

• Acting for a multinational defence contractor in defending claims of race discrimination, racial vilification and victimisation made to the ACT Human Rights Commission.
• Advising on and acting for a NSW government department in respect of discrimination complaints made to Anti-Discrimination NSW and the Australian Human Rights Commission.
• Assisting a defence company in its successful application for an exemption from certain obligations under anti-discrimination laws on the basis of its obligations under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and Export Administration Regulations (EAR).

Workplace Training

• Preparing and presenting tailored workplace training covering acceptable workplace behaviour, workplace grievances and EEO to all employees of various organisations, including an Australian-based global travel company, an education technology company and a not-for-profit cultural organisation.

Business Acquisitions and Restructuring

• Advising a multinational manufacturing company about the employment-related aspects of acquiring an Australian business, and then later advising on a major restructure of the Australian operations.
• Acting for a professional services firm in respect of all employment-related aspects of a merger, including preparing new employment contracts for all staff and redrafting human resources policies with reference to the existing policies of the two firms.
• Acting for a professional services firm in a successful application to the Fair Work Commission seeking orders that an enterprise agreement would not cover it or the transferring employees in the circumstances of a transfer of business.