Industrial Relations & Enterprise Bargaining
The industrial side, handled properly. Enterprise bargaining, union engagement and right of entry, industrial action, and award and agreement interpretation.
Disputes don't wait for the right moment
Industrial action and disputes carry real cost to operations, to relationships and to reputation, and they rarely resolve on their own.
We bring practical, hands-on experience to the moments that matter: helping you assess the situation clearly, respond within your obligations, and work towards outcomes that settle the matter rather than prolong it.
You might be dealing with
- A protected action ballot application, or a ballot already ordered
- Notice of protected industrial action
- Work bans, go-slows, overtime bans or stoppages
- Action you suspect isn't protected
- A dispute notified under your agreement's dispute resolution procedure
- A matter listed for conciliation in the Commission
- Escalating conflict during a bargaining round
- A stoppage affecting a shutdown, a client commitment or a production window
What's included
- Contingency planning What continues, what stops, who covers what, and what it costs. Worked out in advance, not during.
- Understanding your options What you may and may not do in response (including payment rules, lockouts, and applications available to you) and the risks attaching to each.
- Notice and procedural requirements Checking that action is properly authorised and notified, and that your responses meet their own requirements.
- Communication With your workforce, your customers and your leaders. Silence during a dispute is filled by someone else.
- Dispute resolution Running the process under your agreement's procedure, and preparing your position and evidence for conciliation.
- Resolution strategy Working out what actually ends this, and what it costs: usually a different question from who is right.
Our experience
Industrial disputes and action across mining, manufacturing, construction and energy. Including shutdown and project industrial management, where the cost of a stoppage is measured in hours rather than days.
We've prepared employers for protected action, managed live disputes through agreement procedures, and worked through Commission processes from the employer side.
Common questions
Can we stop protected industrial action?
Generally not, if it's properly authorised and notified: that's what "protected" means. There are limited circumstances where action can be suspended or terminated, usually involving significant harm, and they're not easy thresholds. Preparation is a better investment than hoping to stop it.
Do we have to pay employees taking action?
There are specific rules about payment during industrial action, and they differ depending on the type of action. Getting this wrong creates its own contravention, so check before the first pay run rather than after.
What if the action isn't protected?
Different options are available, including applications to the Commission and, in some cases, other remedies. The first step is confirming it genuinely isn't protected, which is a technical question rather than an obvious one.
A dispute has been notified under our agreement. What now?
Follow the procedure in the agreement precisely: the steps, the timeframes and the levels. Employers frequently damage a strong position by skipping a step their own agreement requires.
Ready to talk?
Tell us what you need and we'll take it from there.
Related services
All services →Enterprise Bargaining
Full bargaining lifecycle. Pre-bargaining review and costing, strategy, employee communication, negotiation, ballot and Fair Work Commission approval, and implementation. We sit at the table with you or lead it on your behalf.