Ffion Whaley
Senior Investigator and Lawyer
Ffion is a highly skilled lawyer with more than a decade of top tier private practice experience in employment law, industrial relations, workplace investigations and workplace training.
As a workplace investigator, Ffion strives to conduct effective, procedurally fair and trauma-informed investigations of complex and sensitive issues. She also enjoys supporting in-house investigators with their internal investigations, and conducting preliminary assessments where a formal investigation is not appropriate or necessary.
As a legal advisor, Ffion’s mission is to provide clients with practical and strategic advice that aligns with industry demands and achieves fair and equitable workplace outcomes.
Areas of Practice
Ffion’s extensive technical expertise spans workplace investigations and conduct matters, enterprise bargaining and industrial action, significant and complex employee entitlement remediation programs, contractual disputes, disputes under enterprise agreements, workplace training and employment-related claims.
Experience and expertise
Recent examples of work undertaken by Ffion include:
- Investigating serious allegations of insider trading and fraud made by an anonymous whistleblower against a senior employee of a financial services company.
- Investigating serious allegations of sexual harassment and financial mismanagement against a CEO of a road transport company.
- Advising a client in the energy sector on the management and settlement of a complex unfair dismissal claim involving a long-term injured employee, unauthorised secondary employment and historical sexual harassment allegations made by the dismissed worker against multiple current and former employees of the client.
- Advising a client in the airline industry on the management of a complex grievance process involving more than 50 grievances raised by the complainant union delegate against various co-workers and managers.
- Designing and delivering tailored training programs for a wide range of clients on legal and HR topics, including significant legal developments.
- Conducting complex employment-related litigation before the State and Federal courts and tribunals and the Fair Work Commission.
- Advising various clients in the information technology, tertiary and energy sectors on a strategy for rectifying significant underpayments of employee entitlements, engaging with the Fair Work Ombudsman and communicating with relevant stakeholders.
- Advising on the negotiation, approval and implementation of multiple and varied enterprise agreements for a client in the energy sector.
- Reviewing workplace policies for legal compliance and continuous improvement.
- Representing a client in the energy sector in a range of disputes before the Fair Work Commission, including a right of entry dispute with the Australian Workers’ Union.
Professional and community engagement
Throughout her career Ffion has volunteered at a range of community legal centres and provided pro bono legal advice through the Fair Work Commission’s Workplace Advice Service.
Outside of work, Ffion regularly volunteers in her local community through Share the Dignity and contributes to research conducted by the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre into the protective role of breastfeeding against breast cancer.
Education
- Bachelor of Laws (Hons I), University of Queensland
- Bachelor of Commerce (Hons), University of Queensland
- Diploma of Legal Practice, College of Law
Affiliations
- Law Institute of Victoria
- Association of Workplace Investigators – Australia and New Zealand
