Glenn Fredericks

Contact Details

Phone: +61 2 9210 1468
Mobile: 0404 055 219
Email: glenn.fredericks@statechambers.net

Date of Admission to the Bar

2015

Date of Admission as a Solicitor

1991

Practice Overview

Glenn is an experienced employment, workplace relations and commercial lawyer with extensive experience working for a range of clients from individuals and small businesses to multi-national corporate groups and government. Glenn is a member of the NSW Bar Association’s Industrial, Employment, Health and Safety Committee.

Before coming to the Bar, Glenn was a partner at Freehills (now Herbert Smith Freehills) where he worked with clients in a range of industries, including mining, maritime, manufacturing, finance and education. Glenn was then Executive Legal Counsel at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia managing a range of legal teams including the Major Disputes and Employment Law team, the Corporate Advisory and M&A team and the IT and Intellectual Property Team. Glenn gained significant ‘hands-on’ experience in workplace relations in his early career at the NSW Nurses’ Association.

He regularly appears in many jurisdictions including the Federal Court, the Supreme Court of NSW, the Federal Circuit and Family Court, and Federal and State industrial tribunals. Glenn also regularly assists clients in achieving in achieving commercially satisfactory settlements in proceedings.

Glenn’s expertise has been recognised by his inclusion in the Doyle's Guide as one of the Leading NSW Employment & WHS Law Barristers.  

Areas of Practice

Glenn’s areas of practice include

• Employment contract disputes, including entitlements under incentive and share option schemes
• Disputes regarding workplace rights and entitlements under the Fair Work Act, enterprise agreements and awards
• Whistleblowing
• Restraints of trade
• Unfair dismissals
• General protections (adverse action) claims
• Workplace Health & Safety
• Discrimination law
• Commercial litigation
• Privacy and freedom of information disputes
• Academic appeals

Qualifications

• Master of Laws - University of NSW
• Graduate Diploma in Commercial Law - University of Sydney
• Bachelor of Laws - University of NSW
• Bachelor of Commerce (Industrial Relations) (with merit) - University of NSW

Select Cases

(unled unless otherwise stated)

Full Court of the Federal Court of Australia

Rumble v The Partnership Trading as HWL Ebsworth Lawyers [2020] FCAFC 37; 275 FCR 423; 375 ALR 453; 294 IR 337; appeal from Federal Court decision regarding general protections claims (Led by M Kimber SC)

Federal Court of Australia

Della-Franca v Autosports Leichhardt Pty Ltd [2022] FCA 180: opposing application to set aside notice to produce

Leggett v Hawkesbury Race Club Limited (No 1) [2021] FCA 1298: determination of interlocutory question of issue estoppel (led by Mark Best)

Mount v Dover Castle Metals Pty Ltd [2021] FCA 1356: opposing application for preliminary discovery

Rumble v The Partnership trading as HWL Ebsworth Lawyers [2019] FCA 1409; 289 IR 72: defending general protections (political expression) and breach of contract of employment claims (Led by M Kimber SC)

Leahey v CSG Business Solutions (Aus) Pty Ltd [2017] FCA 1098: defending general protections claim (complaint or inquiry in relation to employment) and claims for payment of short term and long term incentives

Supreme Court of NSW

Griffiths as trustee for the Griffiths HWL Practice Trust v Martinez as trustee for the Martinez HWL Practice Trust as representative of the partners trading as HWL Ebsworth Lawyers [2019] NSWSC 664: defending proceedings arising from summary termination of partner. (Led by M Kimber SC)

Macquarie Holdings (NSW) Pty Ltd v Maharaj [2019] NSWSC 811: defending application for interlocutory injunction to enforce post-employment restraint

Federal Circuit Court / Federal Circuit and Family Court

Blood v Kareela Aviation Pty Ltd [2022] FedCFamC2G 432: defending proceedings for contraventions of “TCR” provisions of Award

Gale v SUEZ Recycling and Recovery Pty Ltd [2021] FCCA 680: determination of interlocutory issues including application for an order restraining Counsel for the applicant from continuing to act in the proceedings any and that the matter be transferred to the Federal Court of Australia

Goswami v BPL Adelaide Pty Ltd [2021] FCCA 302: defending claim for substantial penalties

Goswami v BPL Adelaide Pty Ltd (No 2) [2021] FCCA 2165: defending claim for alleged contravention of enterprise agreement and contract of employment where employee demoted and transferred

Fair Work Commission – Full Bench

National Electrical and Communications Association v Electrotechnology Industry Group Training Company Ltd [2021] FWCFB 6073; 312 IR 274: defending appeal against approval of an enterprise agreement

Beijing Capital Airlines Co Limited T/A Beijing Capital Airlines v Xueyang Shan [2019] FWCFB 3867: defending appeal from unfair dismissal decision

Luke Urso v QF Cabin Crew Australia Pty Limited t/a QCCA [2019] FWCFB 1322: appeal from unfair dismissal decision

Luke Urso v QF Cabin Crew Australia Pty Limited [2018] FWCFB 6370: application for permission to appeal from unfair dismissal decision

Four yearly review of modern awards – Casual employment and Part-time employment [2017] FWCFB 3541

Four yearly review of modern awards - Ports, Harbours and Enclosed Water Vessels Award 2010 [ 2017] FWCFB 1138

Fair Work Commission – single member

Ryan Mount v Dover Castle Metals Pty Ltd, Matthew Haindl, George Tucker, Simon Tripp [2021] FWC 6043: jurisdictional dispute arising from general protections claim as to whether applicant was an employee or independent contractor

Ali Kiani v Fuji Xerox Document Management Solutions Pty Limited [2020] FWC 3418: defending unfair dismissal claim

Anthony Ashley-Cooper v Palm Beach Motor Yachts Co P/L T/A Palm Beach Motor Yachts [ 2019] FWC 8305: defending unfair dismissal claim where the employee was dismissed on the basis of workplace misconduct and the employer discovered further instances of misconduct after the dismissal on which it relied as a valid reason for the dismissal

Ms Chris Ingall v Virgin Airlines Pty Ltd T/A Virgin Australia [2019] FWC 4947: defending unfair dismissal claim (refusal to attend independent medical assessment, inability to perform the inherent requirements of the role)

Mr Todd De La Torre v Coastwide Engineering Pty Ltd [2018] FWC 6446: determination of jurisdictional issue in unfair dismissal claim

Philip Gielis v Arnott’s Biscuits Limited [2018] FWC 1458: defending unfair dismissal application (breach of workplace health and safety policies)

TWU v Star Track Express Pty Ltd [2018] FWC 1551: opposing application for protected action ballot orders

Australian Workers Union v ACI Operations Pty Ltd [2017] FWC 4635: opposing application for protected action ballot orders

Leif Appenzeller v James Fisher Australia Pty Ltd [2017] FWC 3755: defending an unfair dismissal application (fighting in the workplace)

Transport Union of Australia v Milbrae Quarries [2016] FWC 6100: defending interpretation of enterprise agreement and application to increase superannuation entitlements

Other Courts and Tribunals

Anthony John Ashley-Cooper v Palm Beach Motor Yacht Co Pty Ltd [2022] NSWLC: Defending application for breach of contract (release agreement) (NSW Local Court)

Public Service Association and Professional Officers' Association Amalgamated Union of New South Wales v Corrective Services NSW [2021] NSWIRComm 1026: Award interpretation dispute (NSW Industrial Relations Commission)

Adviza Pty Limited v Millward Brown Pty Ltd [2018] NSWLC: defending claim for commission by recruitment company (NSW Local Court)

DDT v Charles Sturt University [2017] NSWCATAD 329: defending application under Government Information Public Access Act 1998 (NSW) (NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal)

MediaCom Australia Pty Ltd v Natvia Pty Ltd [2017] NSWDC 306: claim for recovery of money payable under commercial contract (NSW District Court)

Articles & Papers

Complaints, criticism and general protections, Law Society Journal, May 2020

The Ambiguity Gateway, Paper presented to State Chambers, 29 November 2019

What McDonald's can teach us about franchisor liability, Law Society Journal November 2019

An Implied Term of Good Faith? (2018) 9 Workplace Review 19

Can you fire someone for what they do outside of work? HRM Online 9 May 2017

Jury service – whose right? (report on Lyons v Queensland [2016] HCA 38), Bar News Summer 2016

Not just an innocent bystander - accessorial liability of third parties under the Fair Work Act, Law Society Journal  October 2016

Worth a Punt (report on Tabcorp Limited v Victoria [2016] HCA 4 and Victoria v Tatts Ltd [2016] HCA 5), Bar News  Spring 2016

Above the Line (report on Day v Australian Electoral Officer for the State of South Australia; [2016] HCA 20), Bar News  Spring 2016

Adverse Action: In the Mind of the Beholder?, Law Society Journal, February 2016

Seminars

Glenn regularly presents at seminars and has presented on a range of topics including:

• Social Media policies
• Sham contracting
• Australian Consumer Law
• Managing client expectations
• Restraints of trade
• Adverse action and workplace rights
• The ‘Uberisation’ of employment.
• Accessorial liability under the Fair Work Act.
• Termination payments to executives and officers under the Corporations Act
• Interpreting commercial and employment contracts
• Executive employment issues
• Managing commercial litigation
• Whistleblowing
• The termination of employment