Around the World: What’s New In Workplace


Bullying and Harassment? By Ellen Pinkos Cobb, Workplacebullyinglaws.com Global Statistics on Workplace Bullying and Harassment


Whether referred to as bullying, mobbing, abusive conduct or power harassment, workplace bullying often constitutes the top concerns of workers. Recent statistics from around the


world help illustrate the extent of these concerns. Read m ore


INTERNATIONAL NEWS: AUSTRALIA:


Fact Sheet: Domestic And Family Violence - A Workplace Issue, A Discrimination Issue


Why is domestic and family violence a workplace issue?


Domestic and family violence is not just a private or personal issue. When an employee is living with domestic and family violence, there are often very real costs and negative impacts that flow to the workplace.


Health costs: In Australia, intimate partner violence is the leading contributor to death, disability and illness in women aged 15 to 44 years. It is responsible for more of the disease burden in women than many other well-known risk factors, such as smoking and obesity.1


Workplace costs: Within the population of women who have experienced violence, or are currently experiencing violence, the Australian Bureau of Statistics estimates that between 55% and 70% are currently in the workforce2 – that is, approximately 800,000 women, or around one in six female workers. This means that a significant number of


Australian workplaces will be impacted by women‘s experiences of domestic and family violence.


Some common costs and impacts include:  Negative impact on the victim/survivor‘s participation in the workforce  Decreased staff performance and productivity  Increased staff turnover, absenteeism and presenteeism  Negative impact on employee health and wellbeing and staff morale  Negative impact on the organisation‘s reputation and image.3


Source: https://www.humanrights.gov.au/ Read more


Drug and Alcohol Testing at the Workplace – Emerging Trends


Drug and alcohol policies have been in the spotlight in 2014. There have been a number of key developments and trends that are worth noting:


 There is a growing consensus that urine based testing for drugs is not the Fair Work Commission‘s (FWC) preferred method for testing for impairment.


 However, there has been a small shift towards recognising the reasonableness of policies that allow businesses, in some cases, to test for, and take disciplinary action in respect of, evidence of drug use generally – regardless of whether the use has caused any impairment at work.


 Increasingly, governments are seeking to regulate in this space. The most notable example of this is the Victorian Construction Code which includes specific requirements for employers working on government-funded construction projects to have and implement drug and alcohol policies.


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