AUSTRALIA - continued Wendy Swan Awarded Almost $600k After Being Bullied in Bookstore
A Monash University bookstore employee whose boss flung a book and calculator at her for the way she answered the phone has been awarded almost $600,000. Sales assistant Wendy Swan had a mental breakdown after being subjected to five years of abusive and violent outbursts from boss Kriston Cowell. Swan was forced to memorise booklists, to complete meaningless tasks, and was subjected to tirades that sometimes left her in tears. At other times her boss racially vilified people of Asian appearance or dark-skinned students employed as casuals. Swan complained of the abuse as early as 2003 in phone calls to the chairman of the board and in letters to the directors. She made a formal complaint again in 2005 but the board did nothing. In July 2007 she stood up to her boss and was told "go and find another job, and just go away." During a three-week Supreme Court civil action, Swan said she persisted with her job because she refused to be pushed out by a bully. The court found Cowell's bullying had turned Swan from a "bubbly, lively and caring" mother to a socially withdrawn woman suffering chronic anxiety and depression. Justice John Dixon said had Swan's complaints been tackled when they were made, she would not have suffered significant psychological injury.
Read more Workplace Bullying: Violence, Harassment and Bullying Fact Sheet
Workplace bullying is verbal, physical, social or psychological abuse by your employer (or manager), another person or group of people at work. Some types of workplace bullying are criminal offences. If you have experienced violence, assault and stalking you can report it directly to the police. Some practices in the workplace may not seem fair but are not bullying. Your employer is allowed to transfer, demote, discipline, counsel, retrench or sack you (as long as they are acting reasonably). When you are being bullied it's important that you know there are things you can do and people who can help. You have the right to be in a safe workplace free from violence, harassment and bullying. Bullying may also be discrimination if it is because of your age, sex, pregnancy, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion or certain other reasons. Sexual harassment and racial hatred are also against the law. Your employer has a legal responsibility under Occupational Health and Safety and anti- discrimination law to provide a safe workplace. Employers have a duty of care for your health and wellbeing whilst at work. If you know or see someone being bullied, go to the Supportive Bystander FactSheet to find out how to help.
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CANADA: Understanding and Addressing Crime in the Workplace
A review of news headlines across Canada on any given day shows the sheer prevalence and harmful impact of work-related crime. Organizations have a moral and legal obligation to understand the crime threats they face and to take diligent steps in managing crime and security risks. A common misconception is that workplace crime is less serious than other types of crime. This view is often based on an assumption that the employer or organization is a ‘faceless victim’, more resilient and less vulnerable than the individual ‘citizen vi
ctim’. Clearly,
however, this position ignores the fact that workplaces are populated by individuals. The first step in setting up an effective security and crime prevention program is to assess the risk of crime, which involves taking the following steps: Understand the organization, its activities, and assets; Conduct a crime threat assessment; Conduct a crime vulnerability assessment; Select the most risk-appropriate security and crime prevention measures; and Evaluate and re-assess. In addition, senior leaders must demonstrate genuine interest in crime prevention and allocate sufficient budgetary resources to manage the risks; middle-managers across all departments must support the crime prevention program and influence those under their charge to do likewise; and employees must voluntarily buy-in to the concept of crime prevention and do their part to lower the risk.
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Bullying and Harassment Prevention Tool Kit WorkSafeBC has released a tool kit to help employers meet three new occupational health and safety policies coming into effect on Nov. 1. The new policies were approved in March and have been developed to clarify the obligations of employers, supervisors, and workers in preventing workplace bullying and harassment. Some of the Continued on page 11
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