Sarah is an employment law and work health and safety specialist with nearly 30 years’ experience guiding employers and employees to resolve issues that arise throughout the employment lifecycle.
Drawing on her diverse experience in employment law, work health and safety, workers insurance and general insurance law, Sarah works collaboratively with clients to solve complex workplace issues, improve productivity and minimise risk.
With an in-depth understanding of the intricacies of workplace relationships, exceptional technical and negotiation skills, and strong commercial acumen, Sarah consistently delivers strategic advice that advances the best interests of her clients, making her a trusted advisor to clients of all sizes, including individuals, SMEs, large corporations and government agencies.
Prior to joining Keypoint Sarah was a partner and leader of the Workplace Relations & Safety team at Hicksons Lawyers.
Expertise
- Drafting employment agreements, independent contractor agreements, policies and procedures
- Managing long term ill and injured employees
- Guiding grievance complaint procedures and investigations
- Navigating employment issues involved in the transfer of a business
- Advising on restructures and redundancies
- Achieving amicable exits
- Enforcing post-employment obligations and restraints
- Providing advice following safety incidents including managing interactions with the Regulator
- Defending WHS prosecutions
- Negotiating enforceable undertakings
Experience
Employment law
- Negotiated settlement of a general protection claim in favour of her client (the employer), while achieving significant savings by bringing the employee’s workers’ compensation rights to an end
- Successfully dismissed a racial discrimination claim brought against 14 respondents by a self-represented litigant.
- Advised numerous employers in relation to exiting long term injured employees from employment while avoiding claims and minimising the impact on insurance premiums
- Assisted employers to work through complex restructures and redundancies, securing desirable outcomes without litigation
- Successfully represented transport client in good faith bargaining dispute brought by a union
- Negotiated a successful settlement for a senior employee whose employment was terminated before he commenced the role
Work health and safety
- Attended an accident scene on Christmas Eve where a child was tragically killed at a building site, meeting with the SafeWork inspector and assisting with the production of documents, engaging an engineer to investigate the cause and put preventative measures in place, ultimately avoiding a prosecution being brought on jurisdictional grounds
- Defending employers in WHS prosecutions, including sitting in on interviews with SafeWork, producing documents, making representations for early pleas, preparing evidence in mitigation and attending sentencing hearings
- Negotiating enforceable undertakings in lieu of prosecution
- Responding to Government Information Public Access (GIPA) requests
Recognition
- Recognised by ‘Best Lawyers in Australia’ for six consecutive years (2017-2022) for her expertise in Occupational Health & Safety Law
- Sarah has a combined Science degree (majoring in Psychology) and Law degree from Sydney University; and a Graduate Diploma (with Distinction) in Management from UTS, Sydney
- Admitted to practice in the High Court, NSW, the ACT and the Northern Territory
Career
| 2019 – present | Keypoint Law | Consulting Principal |
| 1990 – 2019 | Hicksons Lawyers | Partner (since 2006) |