INTERNATIONAL NEWS: AUSTRALIA: A Legal View: What Should Happen After a Bullying Claim is Made?
When a complaint of workplace harassment or bullying is raised, how HR responds to it can have just as big of an impact as the issue itself. First and foremost, an
investigation needs to take place. Regardless of who performs it, the workplace investigation plays a vital role in allowing employees to raise their grievances and have them duly addressed. An investigation often does little to repair workplace relationships, however – nor does it improve the atmosphere at work, or facilitate team cohesion, said Catherine Gillespie, Director, Workplace Conflict Resolution. So while an investigation must be impartial and 'best practice', what happens after the investigation is also crucial to ensuring workplace harmony and productivity. Gillespie offers 3 tips for HR professionals to effectively manage the resolution process after a workplace complaint has been lodged: Firstly, systemic issues should be identified, by the investigator and the employer, and addressed by the employer. Secondly, mediation should be offered to both the complainant and respondent to help the parties agree on how to move forward after the investigation, and work together professionally in the future. Thirdly, after assessing the success of the mediation, a team workshop should be conducted.
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Stop the Complaints to 'Stop the Bullying' There is no doubt bullying negatively impacts workplace morale, productivity and the welfare of workers, but for ‘persons conducting a business or undertaking’ (PCBUs), the legal consequences of bullying are significant. While the case law and exposures in relation to workplace bullying have been evolving for many years, the introduction of new workplace bullying laws under the Fair Work Act from 1 January 2014 has created a more structured, cost- effective and accessible regime for workers to swiftly make claims to the Fair Work Commission (FWC). The new provisions allow workers, who reasonably believe they are being bullied at work by an individual or group, to make an application to the FWC for orders to “stop the bullying” In light of the heightened risks and exposures, it is now more important than ever to: update anti-bullying policies and grievance procedures; educate all workers (as broadly defined) on unacceptable behaviour, including training on not only what is but also what isn’t bullying (but rather reasonable management action); clearly communicate to all workers the process for making and managing complaints of workplace bullying; develop effective leaders; train leaders to expeditiously and transparently manage, escalate, investigate and resolve bullying complaints, etc.
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Landmark FWC Ruling: Bullying Jurisdiction Backdated New anti-bullying provisions came into effect on 1 January 2014, but according to a new ruling handed down by the Fair Work Commission (FWC), that doesn’t rule out employees coming forward over alleged bullying from previous years. The case, Kathleen McInnes [2014] FWCFB 1440, related to a stop-bullying application made by McInnes on 9 January this year. She alleged that she was subjected to workplace bullying behaviour from November 2007 to May 2013. She did not refer to any bullying after May 2013, however, she has been on leave since that time.
“Effectively, this decision allows employees to make applications based on past conduct and behaviour that they fear will continue in the future. Past occurrences of bullying conduct will be admitted as evidence, regardless of whether these events occurred prior to 1 January 2014,”
said Athena Koelmeyer, principal and director of
Workplace Law. Read more
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