Mark Branagan

Thomson Geer

Recognized since 2021

Melbourne, Australia

Practice Areas

Employee Benefits Law

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Mark is a Partner with more than 25 years’ experience in legal practice. He specialises in the area of employment law and workplace relations.

Mark’s expertise includes solving workplace problems, drafting contracts, advising on industrial matters, and employment issues such as termination of employment, bullying, discrimination, and occupational health and safety. He advises across a wide range of industries, including the sports sector.

Mark regularly presents to clients and industry associations on various topics relating to workplace relations, occupational health and safety, and employment law. He also presents to postgraduate students at Swinburne University. Mark is an Accredited Specialist (Workplace Relations) with the Law Institute of Victoria.

Recent experience includes:

Advising Australian Pharmaceutical Industries (Priceline) on performance management programs; dealing with long-term absentee employees; and enterprise agreements at distribution centres across Australia.
Advising on large-scale redundancies at the Rasp Zinc Mine at Broken Hill, NSW with unions including CFMEU and AWU; interpretation of EA clauses; employee disciplinary matters; defending public liability and common law negligence claims arising out of serious workplace injuries and potential WHS breaches; managing Covid-19 restructure.
Appointed as panel firm to assist the Fair Work Ombudsman in advising businesses seeking assistance on employment law issues arising out of Covid-19 including Jobkeeper entitlements, workforce management, discipline and work directions, redundancies.
Advising Melbourne Symphony Orchestra on their response to COVID-19 including stand-down of majority of workforce; negotiations for variation of existing enterprise agreement to accommodate reductions in pay rates; negotiations with relevant union and completion of BOOT analysis and EA amendment to obtain successful employee vote.
Advising global payment services company Paypal, on COVID-19 related issues; workforce management; and redundancies.