There is a clear link between risk management and legal compliance across a number of aspects of employment, management and operations. At Freehills we understand the importance of integrating business and legal solutions in your management of occupational health and safety (OHS).

All aspects of management of your people at work in some way impact on, or are impacted by, OHS:

• Human Resource management
• Recruitment
• Insurance and self-insurance
• Disability discrimination
• Industrial relations
• Termination
• Return to work
• Claims management
• Enforcement and prosecution
• Inquiries and litigation
• Prevention.

Quite simply, the following must be considered when determining how you treat your people:

• You must recruit those who can do the work safely.
• You must have systems, plant, training and other measures that provide for the work to be done safely.
• Those who do not comply with safety requirements may be subject to discipline or termination.
• If someone is injured or disabled they may require special measures to enable them to work safely.
• Work stoppages may be related to industrial relations, OHS or both.
• If someone is injured from work you may have a compensation or damages liability that must be met and insured (or have self-insurance for it) and must actively pursue a return to work – safely.
• Regulators may initiate investigations, inquiries and OHS (criminal) prosecutions.

Freehills’ OHS practice accordingly includes all issues relating to the prevention of work-related injury, incident response and associated proceedings, and injury and claims management.

Our team can assist you to develop preventative OHS management strategies to comply with your legal obligations. We can also provide you and your employees with training on OHS compliance, and advise and appear in relation to the defence of OHS prosecutions in all jurisdictions.

We have an unrivalled expertise in working with large organisations and we can effectively manage an array of safety-related issues. These range from developing strategic objectives and governance frameworks, to achieving cultural change within an organisation, with supporting policies and procedures, while attending if necessary to incident response, investigations and prosecutions.

Our leading market position is supported by our experience and ongoing role in working with industry and government to influence legislation at state and federal levels.

Corporate governance and legal requirements

• Advice on legal obligations under relevant Commonwealth and state legislation and regulations and compliance measures.
• Advice and assistance in the development and review of corporate governance, board and executive reporting, leadership strategies and initiatives.

OHS strategy and systems development and implementation

• Developing and reviewing operational strategies, policies and procedures to ensure they are appropriate and effective to achieve OHS compliance and risk management, and are integrated into the overall systems and operations of the organisation.
• Conducting workplace and systems safety audits.
• Undertaking specific projects to assist employers to reach defined outcomes, for example, review and reform of contracting processes, injury response and management protocols.
• Conducting due diligence on culture, systems and performance of an existing or target operation/business to identify the level of compliance with OHS requirements and good risk management principles, and required reforms.

Review of legislation and submissions

• Reviewing draft legislation and regulations for government, employers and industry associations.
• Assisting in drafting submissions and active representation, in response to draft legislation and in pursuing legislative reforms.

Training

Training, including workshops for boards, for your management and staff on all aspects of occupational health and safety, injury and claims management, to ensure all levels of your organisation understand their roles, and the attitudes and behaviour necessary to achieve workplace safety; including issues such as:

• effective safety leadership
• safety essentials – the pieces and where they fit
• strategy development and implementation
• compliance and due diligence
• influencing safety stakeholders
• contractor safety management
• incident notification and response
• the role of managers in claims prevention and response
• effective workplace consultation
• injury management, return to work and employment
• investigations and prosecution process and strategy.    

Safety and discrimination, employment and termination

• Assisting to balance the potentially conflicting obligations of safety, avoidance of discrimination, implementation of employment policies and requirements during employment, discipline and termination.
• Advising on dealing with employment issues with injured workers to avoid allegations of unlawful discrimination or unlawful termination.
• Advising on managing relationships with employee health and safety representatives and employees to avoid allegations of unlawful discrimination based on involvement in safety.

Workplace consultation and relationships

• Assisting you to understand and meet your obligations for consultation with employees and their safety representatives.
• Helping you to develop and implement effective means of communication on safety issues.
• Providing advice and other assistance in resolving safety-related disputes, including representation in courts and commissions.
• Assistance with managing relationships with other stakeholders such as authorities (inspectors and management), employees, unions, suppliers and service providers.

Response to incidents and prosecutions

• Assisting in the immediate aftermath of incidents in dealing with issues such as:
  • incident notification
  • responding to requirements of investigating authorities, and
  • dealing with remediation and safety issues to ensure safety protection without unnecessarily attracting legal liabilities.
• Advice on improvement and prohibition notices and assisting with review and appeals against notices.
• Advice and representation at inquests, and responses to prosecutions and claims.
• Formal representation and conduct of proceedings on your behalf.

Workers’ compensation claims management advice

Advice and assistance with strategies and actions to effectively manage compensation claims to achieve early return to work, termination of payments, and resolution of associated employment issues.

Workers’ compensation insurance and self-insurance

Workers’ compensation insurance and self-insurance advice and assistance including:

• advice on feasibility and legal issues
• applications
• objections and appeals in relation to premium, levy or decisions relating to self insurance
• ongoing obligations and relationships with regulating authorities
• dealing with audits and matters arising.

The Freehills Occupational Health & Safety team understands that protecting the health, safety and welfare of people is a moral imperative and an essential component of corporate social responsibility and corporate governance.

We assist clients meet this imperative by offering:

• assistance in achieving effective management of OHS issues which add value to your organisation
• a detailed understanding of the legal framework and its practical application.

Our clients see the benefit of working with us through our practical, strategic and risk management experience with a wide range of organisations across all industry sectors.

We are committed to adding value to our client’s business by protecting interests and improving safety through three key elements:

• OHS performance strategy and culture – achieving sustainable improvement by effective strategies and frameworks, helping to achieve compliance while driving a positive culture through key leadership behaviours within in the organisation.
• Risk management - through the review and development of specific procedures, policies and manuals which enable compliance and consistent conduct.
• Incident management - including advice on compliance issues and the management of investigations, notices and prosecutions.

We pride ourselves in providing pragmatic advice which is tailored to the specific environment that meets the business imperatives of each individual client.

Legal Guides

• Chambers Global, top tier ranking 2006, 2007, 2008
• PLC Which Lawyer?, top tier ranking 2006, 2008
• Asia-Pacific Legal 500, top tier ranking 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007
• Best Lawyers International, ranked number one, with nine Freehills Employee Relations partners identified as ‘best lawyers’, 2008

Testimonials

• We are recognised as Australia’s premier employee relations practice. Chambers Global 2008 recently noted that the group provides ‘up-to-date, strategic and tailored advice’ and our partners are ‘…always looking to craft lateral solutions’.