The Sparke Cast

In his latest Executive Series podcast, Brad Vinning talks with Dr Jane Thomason, who has a vision and passion to improve the lives and prosperity of people in underdeveloped countries through the power of blockchain technology.  Forget about bitcoin, the real power of crypto is far more wide reaching. Jane speaks to Brad about how COVID-19 brought forward years of progress in this space but also brought other parts of her life to a sudden (and not so fun) halt.

In our 10th episode of The Evolving Workplace podcast series, hosted by Partner Brendan Charles, Senior Associate Susan Withycombe-Taperell and Associate Ashley Sherr answer questions relating to COVID-19 in the workplace. They discuss the ability for employers to give lawful and reasonable directions for employees to return to the office and be vaccinated against COVID-19 and also the ongoing duty of employers to ensure health and safety in the COVID-normal workplace. 

In his latest Executive Series podcast, Brad Vinning talks with Lloyd Heinrich, CEO of The Wine Collective about how COVID-19 turned a challenging business into a thriving one, the productivity gains to be had with remote working and the importance of retaining human connections.

Ian Bennett, Ben Gottlieb and Josephine Lennon explain what constitutes Modern Slavery, its relevance and developments in Australia, including the Modern Slavery Act 2018 (Cth), requirements and deadlines to lodge statements, supply chain risk management processes, and principles that overlap with other workplace legislation.

Roland Hassall and Bill Kritharas discuss key employment and safety developments in 2020, from recent changes to work health and safety laws, industrial manslaughter, to the Productivity Commission’s recommendations regarding mental health, and more.

In this podcast Jackson Inglis, who leads our Brisbane Workplace team, is joined by Barrister Craig Eberhardt to discuss the 2016 Dreamworld incident, where four patrons were sadly killed. Craig, who represented a witness at the Coronial Inquest in 2018, offers his unique perspective on the matter and discusses some lessons learned from this tragic accident.

In this podcast, Mark Doepel and Kiley Hodges discuss the Australian BI test case decision, the implications, and the comparison with the UK test case. 

In this podcast, Felicity Edwards and Ian Bennett from our Workplace team, along with Chantal Tipene from our Government team and specialising in privacy law, discuss reasonable and lawful directions to employees and the requirements that must be satisfied in order to collect personal and sensitive information. They also explore recent case law, provide practical guidance on the applicable legal principles, as well as strategies in balancing employee rights with employer obligations. 

Brendan Charles and James Johnson discuss employment and workers compensation issues arising from a recent case before the Fair Work Commission, including practical advice about the need for a reasonable and measured process to achieve the desired outcome; improve employee performance or defend claims and allegations that may be made by an employer.

On 1 July 2020, Sparke Helmore Lawyers and Laycock Burke Castaldi joined forces under the Sparke Helmore banner. In this podcast, Partners Alan McKelvey, Julien Castaldi and Catherine Wilkinson discuss the merger and how bringing together two of Newcastle’s finest law firms has enhanced the breadth and depth of service to our valued clients across the Hunter Region and beyond.