INTERNATIONAL NEWS: AUSTRALIA:


ACTU Wants Action as Workplace Violence Predicted to Affect One in Four Employees Up to one in four people will suffer violence in their workplace during the course of


their career, with the direct cost running into millions of dollars a year in Australia. Violence experts and the ACTU believe employers are not doing enough to prevent violent incidents in the workplace. International threat assessment specialist Kelly Watt, said that many were unaware of their duty of care, particularly smaller businesses. Groups most vulnerable to experiencing violence include those who work alone at night handling cash - such as retail workers and taxi drivers - emergency workers, security guards, prison officers, health professionals and teachers. Figures compiled by the ACTU show more than 2000 serious workers' compensation claims were lodged as a result of being assaulted at work in 2010-11, costing an average of $6400 each and requiring three weeks off work. More than 4500 claims for mental stress as a result of exposure to occupational violence were successful in Australia between 2008-09 and 2010-11, with almost 60% of the claimants female. ACTU president, Ged Kearney, said employers need to be aware of their duty of care. ''The onus is on employers to take the time to ensure their staff are safe; they must stand back and seriously assess the workplace risk factors,'' said Kearney.


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The Cheat's Guide to FWA Bullying Laws Commencing 1 January 2014 Beginning 1 January 2014, a "worker" who reasonably believes that he or she has been bullied at work can apply to the Fair Work Commission (FWC) for an order to stop the bullying. "Worker" is defined broadly by referring to the definition of worker in Work Health & Safety Acts, and would include contractors, subcontractors, and labour hire workers, in addition to employees. Bullying is defined as "repeated unreasonable behaviour by an individual or group that creates a risk to health and safety". An objective test will be applied as to what is unreasonable behaviour. The FWC will consider whether a reasonable person, having regard to the circumstances, would consider the behaviour to be unreasonable. The draft Model Code of Practice on "Preventing and Responding to Workplace Bullying" released by SafeWork Australia sets out examples of what would be considered bullying behaviour. Worse case scenario, the FWC will refer the matter to a WorkCover or similar authority and your organisation will be prosecuted under the Work Health and Safety laws. If there is evidence that you have knowingly or recklessly harboured a bully, and the bully's conduct has sent employees into hospital (e.g. due to risks of self-harm), you may be liable for Category 1 penalties under WHS laws, which could include a penalty up to $3 million for the company, up to $600,000 and potential imprisonment for an officer of the company, and up to $300,000 for any worker involved in a contravention.


Read more Anti-bullying Guidance Provides Welcome Clarity: Lawyer


Anti-bullying material released by the Fair Work Commission provides much-needed clarity around the new laws, and what is considered bullying and reasonable management action, says employment lawyer Lesley Maclou. The materials comprise a draft case management model to deal with anti-bullying applications, and an anti- bullying benchbook. FWC President, Justice Iain Ross, commented when releasing the documents that: "Any new jurisdiction like this will take some time to settle in". He said that while it is difficult to predict the number of anti- bullying applications that will be made, "we expect it will be significant". According to Maclou, the benchbook provides a simple yet valuable practical overview of bullying issues in the context of a lawful case management model that has "been lacking in years gone by". The benchbook contains seven pages of explanation of what is and is not considered bullying, for example, with reference to specific case law. These examples are "one of the biggest benefits" of the documents, Maclou says, because it is rare in any organisation that employees truly understand what bullying is. The benchbook contains a further seven pages of examples explaining "reasonable management action", and also explains "very clearly" what a constitutionally-covered business is (and what it is not). Employers with good practices have little to fear from the new jurisdiction, said Maclou.


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