| Date | 17 November 2022 |
| Time | 8.45am-12.45pm AEDT (Melbourne time) |
| Venue | Live Online with recording (recording access expires 17 December 2022) |
| Pricing | $440 Price includes gst. |
| Sector | Non-State Schools |
| CPD | Addresses 7.2 of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers |
| Other related LawSense Events |
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Program
8.45 Welcome from LawSense
8.50 Opening Remarks from the Chair
Nick Thornton, Director of the Lauriston Institute, Lauriston Girls’ School
9.00 Dealing with Staff Absences and Mental Health Issues in the Workplace
- Outlining the school’s obligation to review and monitor mental health pressures on staff in the current environment
- What is your obligation where you suspect mental health issues, but the staff member is not acknowledging these or is not cooperative?
Navigating Acceptable Medical Evidence and Effective IME’s
- Dealing with medical certificates and reports – understanding when you can challenge or clarify medical evidence
- Optimising questions to ask the staff member’s medical practitioner to verify or clarify the condition
- Obtaining independent medical reports or evidence – when this can be done and how to brief the expert
Optimising Performance Management of Staff with Stress or Mental Health Issues
- Examining your options in performance managing an employee returning to work from stress leave or psychological injury
- Managing the process to prevent successful claims that the process has caused psychological injury
- Key elements to consider in current school policies and strategies dealing with stress leave and psychological injury
Ben Tallboys, Principal, Russell Kennedy Lawyers; Legal Consultant to Association of Heads of Independent Schools of Australia (AHISA)
10.15 Break
10.30 Staff Reasonable Adjustment Case Studies: Examining the Extent of Reasonable Adjustments a School is Required to Implement
- Outlining the current legal obligations requiring a school to assess and implement reasonable adjustments
- Understanding rights and obligations with chronic or age-related illness or injury
- Optimising your approach to assessing reasonable adjustments:
- ensuring you obtain all the relevant evidence – what questions or enquiries should you make
- assessing required or requested adjustments against the inherent requirements of the role
- balancing the impacts on other staff and on students
- Learning from case studies and exploring adjustments, including rights and obligations regarding:
- allowing time off
- alternative duties or requests for particular classes
- changes in timetable or workload
- flexible work/ work from home arrangements
- changes to the physical environment, furniture or devices where physical injury or disability is involved
Steven Troeth, Partner, Gadens
11.30 Break
11.40 Workers’ Compensation Claims: Examining Your Rights, Obligations and Options in the Current Environment
- Defining workplace injury, including mental health injury
- Understanding the interplay between workers compensation laws and other rights and obligations
- Outlining current rights, obligations and processes in a staff member making a worker’s compensation claim
- What are the school’s options in responding and providing evidence?
- Navigating rights and options where there are additional issues with the staff member, such as toxic behaviour or other issues arguably not connected with the claim
- Workers’ compensation claims made during or after performance management – exploring how a school can protect and advance its position
- Acceptance of claims – understanding a school’s obligations and options
- Dismissing a staff member after a workers compensation process
Nick Duggal, Partner, Moray & Agnew Lawyers
12.40 Closing Remarks
12.45 Close Event
Presenters / panelists include:
Ben Tallboys provides sector-specific, practical legal solutions to schools across Australia. Ben is a passionate and effective advocate for principals dealing with complex matters relating to parents, staff and students, as well as their own employment.
Steven Troeth has extensive experience in the education sector, including acting for independent and Catholic schools. He advises on employment, student and parent issues, including staff and teacher disputes, discrimination, bullying, cyber and social media issues, enterprise agreements and contractual disputes.
Nick Duggal has worked in the area of workplace relations for the past 13 years. He provides practical solutions that enable employers to resolve employment issues commercially and expeditiously. His clients include publicly listed and multi-national companies, Government instrumentalities, insurers, Schools, law firms, human resources and labour-hire companies, associations and hospitals.