The FWO continues to set an example as a best practice employer
The Fair Work Ombudsman has allocated more than half of its legal work to female barristers for the fourth year in a row, continuing to set an example as a best practice employer in flexible work practices and equitable briefing practices.
The Fair Work Ombudsman is a signatory to the Law Council of Australia’s Equitable Briefing Policy seeking to address ongoing issues of gender inequity at the bar.
Currently the Fair Work Ombudsman’s in-house legal team, with 43 female lawyers and 12 male lawyers, is one of the largest workplace relations legal practices in Australia.
One in five employees work on a part-time basis.
According to Chief Counsel Janine Webster, a supportive and flexible working environment allows them to retain valuable employees and enhance internal capabilities to keep legal matters in-house, resulting in a significant reduction in the agency’s spend on legal services.
“As a result of our effective workforce planning we have created a highly talented and engaged practice that achieves consistently good results,” Webster said.
“It took several years for the agency to be in a position to achieve these results, but now we consistently meet and exceed our targets in relation to equitable briefing,” she said.
“We urge other agencies to follow our lead …we are pleased that our efforts go some way towards tackling the issue of inequitable briefing in Australia, but recognise that more needs to be done.”
