Bianca Dearing
Biography
Bianca Dearing is a special counsel in the Employment & Industrial Relations team at Baker McKenzie, Sydney. Bianca has more than 10 years' experience in this area of law, and acts for clients in a broad range of industries including banking and finance, health and pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, real estate, information technology and professional services.
During her time at the Firm, Bianca has been seconded to the in-house legal team at the Fair Work Ombudsman where she assisted on statutory and modern award compliance matters, including preparing cases for trial and attending trial. More recently, Bianca was seconded to a multinational professional services firm where she advised on a wide variety of employment issues (including employment agreements, executive agreements, post-employment restraints, and day-to-day human resources matters).
Bianca regularly provides training in employment law, human resources and regulatory compliance (including compliance with work health and safety and whistleblowing laws). Bianca has also assisted in the preparation of publications for the CCH Australian Master Human Resources Guide.
Practice Focus
Bianca advises on all aspects of employment and industrial law, including employment agreements, executive agreements and responsibilities, human resources and work health and safety policies and procedures, performance management, employment termination, confidentiality and post-employment restrictions, anti-discrimination and work health and safety.
Bianca regularly conducts employment-related litigation before State and Federal courts and industrial tribunals including the Fair Work Commission, the Federal Court of Australia, the Federal Circuit Court of Australia and the Supreme Court of New South Wales. These have included breach of contract, restraint of trade, discrimination and bullying, adverse action and unfair dismissal matters. Most recently, Bianca's practice has focused on advising clients regarding regulatory compliance, including in relation to federal employment, work health and safety and whistleblowing laws.
Representative Legal Matters
- Preparing and advising on employment agreements and executive agreements.
- Advising on senior executive contract terms, including non-compete and non-solicitation clauses.
- Advising on minimum award entitlement terms, benefits and award coverage.
- Advising on terminations, discrimination issues, performance management and protecting confidential information.
- Reviewing and advising on contractor arrangements and potential sham contracting claims.
- Representing employers in complicated unfair dismissal, unlawful termination and equal opportunity/discrimination proceedings in various Courts and Tribunals.
- Advising companies on transmission of business, restructuring of business operations and redundancy.
- Advising domestic and foreign employers on compliance with work, health and safety obligations throughout Australia.
- Advising on appropriate procedures for performance management, investigations of misconduct, redundancies, termination, and harassment and anti-discrimination complaints.
- Conducting training on termination, restructuring, obligations to manage employees, independent contractors, protecting business from employees, discrimination, harassment, work health and safety, and the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth).
Professional Associations and Memberships
- Law Society of New South Wales - Member
Admissions
- New South Wales~Australia (2009)
Education
- University of Newcastle (LL.B.) (2008)
- University of Newcastle (Bachelor's Degree Economics) (2006)
Languages
- English