A first-of-its-kind study has shown exposure to work-related violence or threats increases the odds of certified sickness absence due to mental disorders by 46 per cent, highlighting the importance of comprehensive risk assessments to identify and control potential hazards.
The Fair Work Commission has ordered an employer to immediately cease the automatic forwarding of a worker's emails to her manager, in upholding the worker's bid for stop-bullying orders. It also made orders against the "adversarial" applicant.
Older workers involved in a workplace "senior program" had a 60 per cent lower risk of early disability retirement, a study has shown. The authors say employers can avoid extensive sick leave by promoting strategies to maintain work ability and prevent musculoskeletal pain.
A major health and safety organisation's evaluation of a mysterious illness cluster, among dozens of police officers who executed a search warrant, has identified issues around the use of personal protective equipment, and prompted disease-control recommendations that apply to all industries.
The risk of lower back pain (LBP) associated with workaholism differs depending on the level of work engagement felt by the employee, a study has found. The authors say that by improving job resources to increase engagement, employers can avoid the high levels of absenteeism associated with LBP.
Australia is expected to see a surge in flu, respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19 cases over the next few weeks, and hygiene services experts have called for businesses to protect themselves and their employees by creating safer and more hygienic work environments.
A paramedic who claimed she was unable to comply with a COVID-19 vaccine mandate because of her "flu-like symptoms" has been blocked from pursuing her late unfair dismissal claim, with a Fair Work Commission full bench finding her illness was not a valid reason for her late application or her vaccine non-compliance.
With a horror cold and flu season upon us, and COVID-19 making its rounds again, Australian workplaces have experienced an unparalleled rise in sick leave. Investing in wellbeing-focused initiatives aimed at reducing sickness is one-way employers can lessen the pressure of absenteeism, says a leading business expert.
A commission president has rejected an appeal from Bunnings Group Ltd, upholding the finding that it unreasonably pressured a worker to take a transfer and aggravated her psychological conditions following the death of her mother and cousin.
