Around the World: What‟s New In Workplace Bullying and Harassment? By Ellen Pinkos Cobb,
Workplacebullyinglaws.com
The recognition of workplace bullying, violence, harassment and stress as occupational health as safety risks entitled to as much protection as physical risks continues to evolve around the world. Recent developments include the following:
EU-OSHA launches Europe-wide campaign: ‗Healthy Workplaces Manage Stress‘ Belgium adopts new legislation on psychosocial risks at work Philippines bill filed to prevent office bullying South Australia issues guide on workplace v iolence Protection from Harassment Bill: British Columbia research shows being ignored and isolated at work is worse for an employee‘s physical and mental wellbeing than harassment or bullying.
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS: AUSTRALIA:
Employee Lost 17kg Due to Workplace Bullying
Government insurer Comcare has been ordered to pay compensation to a Centrelink employee who claimed she was bullied and humiliated by her new managers after
returning to work from maternity leave. Amanda Kosteski claimed workers‘ compensation after being diagnosed with depression and anxiety and suffering a loss of appetite, which led to her losing 1kg in three months. ―Nobody appears to have taken responsibility at the appropriate time for assisting an employee who was showing clear signs of distress,‖ wrote tribunal member, Robin Handley. ―Action was taken by Centrelink to address the problem subsequently but by that stage the damage had been done.‖
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Facing Claims Without a Lawyer is a Reality in Anti-bullying Matters Employers have no automatic right to legal representation when defending claims in the anti-bullying jurisdiction, despite popular belief to the contrary, according to DLA Piper senior associate Elizabeth Ticehurst. The Fair Work Act allows parties to be represented by a lawyer, but only with permission of the Commission. In most cases the request is granted, but it is not automatic, says Ticehurst. For some this will be a scary prospect. While the Fair Work Commission doesn't have the right to award damages to claimants in bullying claims, it can make orders to stop the bullying.
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Five Big Lessons From the Anti-bullying Tribunal In some of the key cases handed down in the anti-bullying jurisdiction so far, the FWC has provided useful guidance on what constitutes "repeated unreasonable behaviour", but also raised concerns about the scope of orders it can make. While the FWC has no power to order reinstatement or compensation, they do have considerable scope to intervene in workplace processes to deal with complaints and prevent the behaviour from reoccurring. Despite business concerns about the new powers handed to the FWC, only a very small number of applications are making it through to a decision on the merits of the application.
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Workers Slow to Take Advantage of Anti-bullying Measures When the FWC announced its new bullying measures, there were predictions of 67 bullying complaints per week. Six months on, those fears have proved unwarranted. A report from the commission showed that only about 150 applications were made in the first quarter of the year. HopgoodGanim partner Andrew Tobin, associate Abigail Vipond
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