Posts: Sports Law

In 2003, Workplace Law was born. We were one of the first law firms to exclusively advise and act for employers...our tagline at the time said it all “Your partner in workplace relations”.

The Penrith Panthers have been in the headlines recently due to an employment dispute with one of their players, Taylan May.

Racial abuse from fans and/or members certainly falls foul of discrimination laws and can lead to significant questions being asked of clubs and organisations about what steps they took or could have reasonably taken to prevent players from being subject to such behaviour.

Since it arrived in Australia, Uber has been under fire for its disruption of the transport industry and its complicated relationship with its drivers.

As the Israel Folau saga enters another chapter, our Managing Director Athena Koelmeyer shared her thoughts with Smart Company’s News Editor, Matthew Elmas, on how this case will potentially affect all employers and employees not just sporting organisations and athletes.

Our expertise in workplace relations, teamed with our lawyers’ passion for and knowledge of all things sport, makes Workplace Law the ideal partner for clubs, associations and governing sporting bodies.

The NRL’s Manly Sea Eagles have faced an uncomfortable situation regarding a key employee in recent times.

The tragic death of a 19 year old college football player in the USA serves as a reminder to sporting organisations at all levels about the duty of care owed to their players.

There has been much attention on the new Netball Australia collective agreement (the Agreement) announced last week. The Agreement, described as a “landmark deal” for women’s sport increases the minimum player salary from $13,250 per year to $27,375 per year.

Recently, there has been intense focus in the media on two of Australia’s top sporting codes and their negotiations for new pay deals. The threats of strikes and boycotts highlight why it is important to have and maintain good communication between the parties in the collective bargaining process.

All employers should be aware that discrimination in the workplace on the basis of a “protected attribute” is unlawful. For example, Australia’s anti-discrimination legislation provides that it is unlawful to discriminate on the basis of “race.”

The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act) provides a protection from unfair dismissal and permits an application to be made for remedy. In our previous blog Objection! – Access to the Unfair Dismissal Jurisdiction we outlined some of the jurisdictional objections that can be raised by an employer when an unfair dismissal is lodged by an employee. Access to the unfair dismissal jurisdiction however is limited to eligible employees and an objection may also be lodged where it is disputed that the applicant was not an employee. In some circumstances, it may not be entirely clear whether an applicant was an employee rather than an independent contractor or volunteer.