About Lydia
Lydia is passionate about employment and industrial relations matters. She has a unique skill set having 13 years’ senior government experience and over eight years of private practice experience.
Lydia is recognised as a ‘safe pair of hands’ and a leader in technical excellence. As an experienced workplace lawyer, she applies a common sense and commercial approach to matters.
She is particularly interested in disciplinary matters, enterprise bargaining, company restructures and resulting transfers of business and redundancy issues, and managing complex employee claims.
Specialisations
Experience
Large not for profit
Successfully resolved an application for stop bullying orders against a large, Queensland organisation, and a separate general protections application against the same client and 11 named individual respondents.
Enterprise bargaining
Assisted a company providing national operations and maintenance services to successfully bargain and have approved a greenfields agreement at the Mount Pleasant mine, and two enterprise agreements at the Sonoma and Byerwen mine sites.
In response to objections by the CFMEU to the approval of a new enterprise agreement, prepared submissions and undertakings for a mining equipment services company, which resulted in the agreement being approved following the contested hearing. Matters in dispute included BOOT objections, ‘genuine agreement’ and coverage under the Manufacturing and Associated Industries and Occupations Award 2010 versus the Black Coal Award 2010. For the same company, advised on the appeal of a FWC decision to reject an agreement bargained under the Building and Construction Award 2010.
State Government – Discipline
Assisted departments with multiple disciplinary matters: analysing evidence and advising on alleged misconduct (including corrupt conduct), criminal offences and employee performance concerns against executive and senior officers; drafting show cause notices for disciplinary action, and disciplinary findings and penalty letters on behalf of chief executives and senior management.
Restraint of trade matters
Protected the interests of a national medical device manufacturer and supplier by drafting employment and contractor agreements with tailored confidentiality and post-employment restraints; and successfully protecting the client by securing court orders restraining a former employee from soliciting clients, and the prospective competitor company from engaging the individual in their business in Australia, for up to 12 months after termination.
Hospital and health services
Coordinated external reviews, HHB Act investigations and other investigations for Hospital and Health Services in order to provide advice on managing workforce issues, discipline and successful resolution of union complaints.