ER/IR Unpacked

Imagine having a team of employment lawyers on hand to ask your most pressing industrial and employment relations questions. What would you ask? In part two of this special live recording from AHRI’s National Convention and Exhibition in Brisbane, host Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR sat down with a panel of legal experts to get answers to some of HR’s complex industrial and employment relations questions. He posed audience questions to Kathryn Dent, Partner at HWLE Lawyers; Will Snow, Director of Snow Legal; and Lisa Mannering FCPHR , employment lawyer and HR consultant at Langtree Legal. They tackled questions including: Do you have any go-to phrases that you use to coach your managers through difficult conversations? When the C-suite is continually demanding higher levels of productivity from the workforce, how can employers better manage high levels of absence? How can HR stay up to date with all the complexity that exists in the IR world? Listen now to hear their insights. This episode was recorded on the land of the Turrbal People. We’d like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this land and the land on which you are listening today. Listen to HR's ER/IR questions answered (part one): https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/hrs-er-ir-questions-answered-part-one/id1885970281?i=1000786106705 Further learning: State Conference: AHRI's South Australian conference will be covering a range of industrial and employee relations topics. Book your spot for 27-28 October : https://bit.ly/4qQalja Course – Leading Difficult Conversations: https://bit.ly/3T3nE3c Course – HR Law – Advanced: https://bit.ly/46k2uAK Resources: Infographic – Preparing managers for difficult remuneration conversations: https://bit.ly/4zIhqpU Article – Three conditions needed to create high-performing teams: https://bit.ly/3SNaCXx Connect: Follow AHRI on LinkedIn. Connect with Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR , Kathryn Dent , Will Snow and Lisa Mannering FCPHR. AHRI members can join the AHRI LinkedIn Lounge to access bonus content and continue the discussion: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13848256/ . Not yet an AHRI member ? Join today and access a range of benefits, as well as a passionate community of HR practitioners: https://www.ahri.com.au/ahri-membership .

Have you ever wished you could throw your most pressing industrial and employment relations questions to a team of employment lawyers? That's exactly what we did last month. In this special live episode, recorded at AHRI’s National Convention and Exhibition in Brisbane, host Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR sat down with a panel of legal experts to talk through the day-to-day challenges employers are facing in today’s complex ER/IR landscape. He posed audience questions to Kathryn Dent, Partner at HWLE Lawyers; Will Snow, Director of Snow Legal; and Lisa Mannering FCPHR, employment lawyer and HR consultant at Langtree Legal. Bringing their on-the-ground insights, they unpacked the most pressing issues employers are grappling with – from managing overpayments to having psychosocially safe difficult conversations in the workplace. Stay tuned for part two of this episode, coming to you next week. This episode was recorded on the land of the Turrbal People. We’d like to acknowledge the traditional owners of this land and the land on which you are listening today. Further learning: State Conference: AHRI's South Australian conference will be covering a range of industrial and employee relations topics. Book your spot for 27-28 October : https://bit.ly/4qQalja Course – Workplace Conflict Resolution: https://bit.ly/4hTCmDZ Course – HR Law – Advanced: https://bit.ly/46k2uAK Resources: Infographic – HR’s 2026-27 Australian Employment Law and HR Reform Calendar: https://bit.ly/3SyE5Ei Article – 7 psychosocial safety dilemmas and how to respond: https://bit.ly/4gtcJaR Article – Does Australia need to establish a Fair Work Court?: https://bit.ly/4gArWad Connect: Follow AHRI on LinkedIn. Connect with Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR , Kathryn Dent , Will Snow and Lisa Mannering FCPHR. AHRI members can join the AHRI LinkedIn Lounge to access bonus content and continue the discussion: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13848256/ . Not yet an AHRI member ? Join today and access a range of benefits, as well as a passionate community of HR practitioners: https://www.ahri.com.au/ahri-membership .

Cutting headcount is one of the toughest calls HR has to make. And today, it's more complicated than ever. Restructures, redundancies and redeployments come with enough challenges on their own. Add psychosocial safety risks into the mix, and the room for error expands quickly. So how can HR get it right? Host Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR sits down with Kathryn Dent , Partner at HWLE Lawyers, to break down what every HR practitioner needs to keep front-of-mind – not just during and after a restructure, but in the lead-up too. Don’t miss your monthly ER/IR pulse check with Elisha Middleton , Workplace Relations and Remuneration Lead at Western Power. This month she covers the Fair Work Commission's annual wage review, updates to employment-related rates and thresholds, and the recent Paid Parental Leave expansion and Payday Super legislation. Plus, we answer your questions on: Practical steps HR and managers can take to minimise psychosocial risk during a redundancy or restructure What outplacement and career transition support should look like for affected employees How HR should respond when employees are reluctant to move into alternative roles. Further learning: Article – HR case study: Maintaining workforce performance during organisational disruption: https://bit.ly/3TOyKJg Article – 4 legal considerations when managing a partial redundancy: https://bit.ly/4yQyGJk Visual resource – HR’s 2026-27 Australian Employment Law and HR Reform Calendar: https://bit.ly/4yD92HL Course – Organisational Design: https://bit.ly/4fj0o9K Resources: Template – Amendment to terms and conditions of employment: https://bit.ly/4wdrBAB Template – Redundancy invitation to consultation: https://bit.ly/3RsIsAg Connect: Follow AHRI on LinkedIn. Connect with Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR , Elisha Middleton and Kathryn Dent . AHRI members can join the AHRI LinkedIn Lounge to access bonus content and continue the discussion: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13848256/ . Not yet an AHRI member ? Join today and access a range of benefits, as well as a passionate community of HR practitioners: https://www.ahri.com.au/ahri-membership .

Performance management season is here. Is fear stopping your leaders from having hard, but necessary, conversations? In this episode of ER/IR Unpacked, we strip away the stress to explore how to effectively navigate performance reviews through a psychosocial safety lens. We start with a brief ER/IR landscape update from Elisha Middleton, Workplace Relations and Remuneration Lead at Western Power, covering the Fair Work Commission's annual wage review decision, upcoming SCHADS Award restructuring, updates to case management processes via the Building Cooperative Workplaces Bill and Victoria's newly legislated right to work from home. Then, host Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR goes deep with Kate Connors, Chief Mental Health Advisor and executive coach at Elemental Coaching and Psychology. Kate shares proactive strategies to ease manager anxiety, the behavioral balance of high-quality workplace check-ins and how to co-design performance solutions rather than strictly relying on scripted procedures. Plus, we tackle the grey areas HR leaders actually face by answering questions from our listeners, focusing on stressful frontline industries, applying trauma-informed practice to performance discussions and balancing economic productivity with psychological safety. Further learning: Article – How to protect wellbeing through smarter work design: https://bit.ly/4w8dU5s Article – 4 common psychosocial hazards and how to manage them: https://bit.ly/4xLknVT Course – Psychosocial Code of Practice: https://bit.ly/3SwbAH9 Resources: Guideline – How to have difficult conversations: https://bit.ly/4xOQeVr Guideline – Reviewing or designing jobs to prevent psychosocial harm: https://bit.ly/4alJq7O Connect: Follow AHRI on LinkedIn. Connect with Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR , Elisha Middleton and Kate Connors . AHRI members can join the AHRI LinkedIn Lounge to access bonus content and continue the discussion: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13848256/ Not yet an AHRI member ? Join today and access a range of benefits, as well as a passionate community of HR practitioners: https://www.ahri.com.au/ahri-membership

Australia’s National Employment Standards are getting their first major comprehensive parliamentary review since being implemented in 2009. A flood of submissions from industry groups, unions and individuals highlights the variety of strong opinions about Australia's industrial landscape. In this episode, we kick off with our monthly industrial relations briefing with Amal Cimino CPHR, AHRI’s HR Standards and Capability Development Manager, who talks about the Closing Loopholes review, Federal budget outcomes and more. Following this, employment lawyer Lisa Mannering FCPHR joins host Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR to dissect the highest-stakes items on the table in the upcoming NES review, ranging from the fiercely debated push for five weeks of annual leave to the logistical headaches of casual notice periods and the campaign to force AI into mandatory consultation clauses. To wrap things up, we field a few tricky curveballs from our listeners regarding the potential changes to arise from the review. Further learning: 5 changes under consideration in the NES review: https://www.ahri.com.au/articles/5-changes-under-consideration-in-the-national-employment-standards-review How casual work could evolve as a result of current legislation reviews: https://www.ahri.com.au/articles/casual-work-legislation-reviews Federal Court judgement: https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2025/2025fca1092 Resources: The Fair Work Commission's Pay and Conditions tool (PACT): https://calculate.fairwork.gov.au/ AHRI HR's Federal Budget briefing: https://media.licdn.com/dms/document/media/v2/D561FAQEmxldWM7ttYA/feedshare-document-pdf-analyzed/B56Z4gQ4AIKoAY-/0/1778657757607?e=1779926400&v=beta&t=bOw2FwRy6X2ojD4uTt2szDKYUZ-K9qTw_dM-hYToqiQ AHRI's Closing Loopholes draft report: https://www.dewr.gov.au/download/17619/closing-loopholes-review-draft-report/42732/closing-loopholes-review-draft-report/pdf Connect: Follow AHRI on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ahri/ Connect with Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathonwoolfrey/ Connect with Amal Cimino CPHR: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amal-cimino-cphr-6375a376/ Connect with Lisa Mannering FCPHR: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-mannering/ AHRI members can join the AHRI LinkedIn Lounge to access bonus content and continue the discussion: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13848256/ Not yet an AHRI member? Join today and access a range of benefits, as well as a passionate community of HR practitioners: https://www.ahri.com.au/ahri-membership

The Workplace Gender Equality Agency's (WGEA) new gender goal-setting requirements are now in full effect. Is your business on track to satisfy the new requirements? In this episode of ER/IR Unpacked, we strip away the compliance jargon to tackle the strategic reality of gender reporting and target setting in the workplace. Plus, AHRI's HR Standards and Capability Development Manager, Amal Cimino CPHR, offers a quick update on upcoming ER/IR changes on the horizon. In our deep dive section, we explore the powerful business case for gender equality with Dr Samone McCurdy, Executive Manager, Insights and Capability at WGEA. We dive into the latest legislative reforms, discuss the new 'menu' of targets for large employers, the importance of board-level transparency and explore how HR can use this data to influence strategy with the C-suite. Plus, we answer HR's burning listener questions – from the consequences of missing a target to managing baselines during a major company restructure. Further learning: 9 common questions about the upcoming Payday superannuation changes: https://bit.ly/49vpmzh DEI for HR Practitioners: Introduction to DEI practices course: https://bit.ly/490Kmhp Resources: AHRI's WGEA-approved Remuneration and Pay Equity Policy template (exclusive to AHRI members): https://bit.ly/4sF0DQJ WGEA gender pay gap analysis guide: https://bit.ly/4ncwvdA Connect: Follow AHRI on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ahri Connect with Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR ; Amal Cimino CPHR and Dr Samone McCurdy. AHRI members can join the AHRI LinkedIn Lounge to access bonus content and continue the discussion: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13848256/ Not yet an AHRI member? Join today and access a range of benefits, as well as a passionate community of HR practitioners: https://bit.ly/3RlhE4s

SHOW NOTES AI is moving faster than the law – is your business keeping up? In this episode of AHRI's ER/IR Unpacked , we strip away the hype to tackle the complexity and ambiguity of AI in the Australian workplace. We start with a quick ER/IR landscape update (2:14 mins) from Amal Cimino CPHR , HR Standards and Capability Development Manager at AHRI, before we go deep with Natalie Gaspar , Partner at Herbert Smith Freehills (9:00 mins), discussing recent NSW legislation that could impact broader states and territories and whether we should expect specific AI legal obligations on the horizon. Plus, we tackle the grey areas HR leaders actually face by answering listener questions that keep HR up at night (25:56 mins). Further learning: AI & HR: What You Need to Know to Stay Compliant course: https://bit.ly/48eHgWi Embedding Responsible AI: Shaping Workforce Planning & Culture course: https://bit.ly/4sHnNpN Resources: Webinar with WGEA CEO Mary Woolridge (exclusive to AHRI members): https://bit.ly/4uUhz7v Justice Hatcher's AI guidance document: https://bit.ly/4bOm9wB AHRI Remuneration and Pay Equity Policy template: https://bit.ly/4sF0DQJ Connect: Follow AHRI on LinkedIn. Connect with Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR ; Amal Cimino CPHR and Natalie Gaspar . AHRI members can join the AHRI LinkedIn Lounge to access bonus content and continue the discussion: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13848256/ Not yet an AHRI member ? Join today and access a range of benefits, as well as a passionate community of HR practitioners: https://www.ahri.com.au/ahri-membership

Stay ahead of the curve on all things employment and industrial relations with ER/IR Unpacked – a monthly podcast from the Australian HR Institute, the trusted home for HR professionals. Hosted by experienced HR and IR expert Jonathon Woolfrey FCPHR, each episode offers practical and timely tips for the modern HR practitioner. SHOW NOTES Connect: Connect with Jonathon Woolfrey on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/jonathonwoolfrey/ Follow AHRI on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ahri/ AHRI members can join the AHRI LinkedIn Lounge to access bonus content and continue the discussion: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13848256/ Not yet an AHRI member? Join today and access a range of benefits, as well as a passionate community of HR practitioners: https://www.ahri.com.au/ahri-membership