Current practice

Paul Burns is a partner in Freehills' employee relations practice. He commenced his Articles with Freehills in 1990, has been a member of the firm's Employee Relations Group since May 1991, and became a partner in 1998.

Paul's practice focuses primarily on enterprise bargaining, dispute resolution, employment alignment strategies, operational restructures, and the development of tailored and compliant employment policies and practices.    

Industry experience

As a result of the firm's and Paul's relationship with Telstra, he spent the period from November 1997 to February 1999 on secondment to the company as the Employee and Industrial Relations Counsel. In this role, Paul reported to the General Counsel and provided strategic advice to the ER Group on a vast range of ER/IR issues including enterprise bargaining, the rollout of AWAs in a unionised environment, significant outsourcing projects, downsizing, dispute management, award simplification, employee discipline, EEO and occupational health and safety.

Major projects and clients

Paul is experienced with the procedures in all courts and industrial tribunals and has been involved in many high profile industrial cases for clients such as:

• Rio Tinto
• Victoria Police
• the Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board
• Siemens
• Grocon
• Stellar Call Centres
• Telstra
• BHP Billiton
• GE Capital
• Mobil, and
• Toyota.

Paul’s particular experience in dealing with ‘staff employment issues’ through his association with the Rio Tinto group has ideally placed him to advise clients on the vast range of employment regulation options available under the various pieces of industrial legislation including the effective implementation of both union and non-union collective agreements, Australian Workplace Agreements and staff contracts.

Paul has worked extensively with employers in the emergency services, coal,  construction,  chemical, telecommunications, vehicle manufacturing, oil, finance, meat, hospitality, power generation, childcare and call centre industries. As well as providing advice to these clients on a range of general employment related matters, Paul has also undertaken specific projects concerning dispute management and enterprise agreement negotiations.

Professional background

Paul has also been the training coordinator for Freehills’ employee relations practice in Melbourne. He remains active in developing and presenting practical training modules on a range of topical employee relations issues including options for industrial regulation, performance management, employee discipline and sexual harassment.

Paul completed a combined Arts/Law degree at Monash University in 1989 and is a member of the Australian Human Resources Institute.