Posts: WHS

A recent decision of the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has illustrated how difficult it can be for employers to balance their obligations under various workplace laws when managing ill and injured employees.

Various Australian jurisdictions have been slowly introducing an offence of industrial manslaughter, dealing with workplace fatalities that arise as a result of negligent conduct by a person conducting a business or undertaking or its officers.

Consultation with employees always plays an important part when introducing changes in the workplace. Under work health and safety legislation, employers have a duty to consult with their workers as far as reasonably practicable in relation to health and safety matters.

It is an expected and necessary part of work health and safety (WHS) plans that all new workers receive relevant WHS training.

Under the general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FW Act), employers are prohibited from taking adverse action against an employee (such as dismissing them from employment) because they have a workplace right or because they have exercised or chosen not to exercise that right.

Australia has long had in place state and federal anti-discrimination legislation which recognises sexual harassment as a form of sex discrimination and makes sexual harassment in the workplace unlawful.

Work health and safety legislation in Australia places significant duties and obligations on persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) to ensure the health and safety of workers.

Enjoying the company of your colleagues is something most people hope to find in the workplace. It can make work much more enjoyable and lead to lasting friendships. However, fun in the workplace can cross a line when it takes the form of dangerous skylarking or roughhousing.

Workplace fatalities are tragic and devastating events. In order to reflect the seriousness of these incidents, some jurisdictions across Australia have amended their work health and safety laws to establish the offence of industrial manslaughter, where the negligent conduct by a person conducting a business or undertaking or officers causes the death of a worker.

The NSW District Court has convicted and fined a KFC franchisee after a young worker sustained third degree burns when his foot slipped into hot oil while he was cleaning the hoods of an overhead ventilation system.

A NSW scaffolding business has been convicted and fined after it pleaded guilty to an offence under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (NSW) (WHS Act) (SafeWork NSW v Sydney Hoist and Scaffolding Pty Ltd [2019] NSWDC 442).

There have been a number of prosecutions this year that have resulted in workplace bullies being found to have breached their duties under State and Territory work health and safety legislation

A recent decision of the Fair Work Commission (FWC) has reminded employers of the importance of taking a measured and consistent approach to enforcing workplace policies and procedures.

Conviction under work health and safety legalisation can result in significant fines and/or imprisonment.

We all have different hobbies, activities or interests we want to share with our friends and colleagues. However, not all interests are appropriate for the workplace.

By taking a “safety first” approach, workers are educated in WHS matters, how to report WHS issues, concerns or near misses and are assured that such matters will be taken seriously.