Bruno Di Girolami, one of Western Australia’s leading industrial relations and employment law lawyers, combines legal advice and commercial awareness with a strong understanding of his clients’ business goals.

Bruno advises major corporations in mining, manufacturing, transport and shipping, construction, banking and finance and property development industries. He has specific experience in highly unionised industries.

With a strong foundation in workplace-related law, Bruno’s practice focuses on industrial relations strategies and disputes; enterprise bargaining negotiations; prosecutions; dismissals; employment aspects of major restructurings, privatisations, sales and outsourcing; and restraint of trade litigation.

Bruno advises on employment and industrial relations law issues associated with commercial transactions, particularly those with highly complex employment arrangements such as outsourcings, sales of business and public-private sector transitions. He is experienced in the resolution of complications that may arise from heavily unionised workforces and prescriptive employment conditions.

Bruno handles matters related to industrial action, enterprise bargaining and general industrial strategy. He has appeared before numerous industrial tribunals and has first-hand experience with a wide range of industry unions.

Bruno’s experience in the occupational health and safety sector includes advising Australia-based and offshore clients in relation to occupational health and safety compliance including contract management. He has represented large employers in relation to industrial accidents resulting in deaths and serious injury, including in prosecutions and coronial inquests. In addition to defending prosecutions, Bruno provides strategic advice on aspects of incident response including dealing with WorkSafe, assessing a director’s liability, conducting occupational health and safety compliance audits and implementing safety management systems.

As a trial lawyer, Bruno’s litigation experience includes major breach of contract claims by senior executives, restraint of trade litigation against departing executives, adverse action complaints and all manner of prosecutions, from industrial breaches to unfair dismissals. He also advises on restructures, discipline and dismissals (including executive dismissals), award and enterprise agreement obligations and drafting contracts, policies and incentive plans. He regularly conducts proceedings before Fair Work Australia, the Federal Court, federal magistrate courts, as well as other courts and tribunals.

Bruno is a member of the Industrial Relations Society of Western Australia and is the author of the highly regarded Western Australian employment and safety newsletter At Work and HS&E.

Representative Experience

• Preparing the industrial strategy for the engagement of expatriate staff in South Africa and Egypt for Barminco, a highly respected underground mining contractor. 
• Advising on senior executive contracts and industrial strategy for Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company.
• Providing advice and strategy on senior executive contracts and remuneration benefits arising from changes in ownership for Barminco.
• Preparing the industrial strategy and employment instruments for BGC Contracting and Capricorn Society Ltd.
• Advising numerous private corporations and state instrumentalities on the workplace aspects involved in sales of business, outsourcing and other private-public sector transitions.
• Providing strategic advice and representation on managing industrial action for DP World and Brownes Foods Pty. Ltd.
• Assisting with industrial strategy including enterprise bargaining negotiations and rights of entry for Brownes Foods Pty. Ltd. and Barminco.
• Successfully representing Brownes Foods Pty. Ltd. in a test case involving redundancy and annualised salaries.
• Successfully representing Spotless Group Limited in defending charges in Western Australia’s largest health and safety prosecution arising from Tropical Cyclone George.
• Representing Brookfield Multiplex, an Australia-based group of property and construction companies, in safety compliance during the Alkimos Water Alliance.