Browsing: Emerging risks | Page 60

Compensation cheat escapes jail, but suspended sentences now abolished; Don't forget about silicosis, warns VWA; Greens motion for firefighters with cancer defeated; and Emergency workers protected by new anti-violence laws.

A worker whose sensitivity to chemicals was aggravated by her colleagues' perfume has been denied compensation for permanent impairment, after the AAT found she didn't meet the impairment threshold.

Employers can significantly increase the likelihood of workers protecting themselves from the sun through role modelling, PPE and "sun safe" clauses in policies, according to Australian researchers.

The independent inquiry into the Hazelwood Coal Mine fire in Victoria earlier this year has called for the mine operator and other employers to upgrade their emergency response and communication strategies.

The Australian Industry Group has applauded the recall of an unsafe brand of electrical cable, but warns that "non-conforming products" are widely used in the building and construction sector, exposing workers and other end-users to serious safety risks.

Employers should conduct standing meetings and provide workers with regular breaks that involve walking to reduce sedentary time, say Australian researchers.

New research casts doubt on the merits of providing workplace exercise facilities, finding no evidence they increase employees' physical activity levels.

An employee who injured herself during a toilet break is entitled to compensation, after a court rejected her employer's claim that such a break isn't considered an "ordinary recess".

Two NSW employers that failed to provide PPE to two employees who worked outside have been found liable for their skin cancer conditions, one of which resulted in a leg amputation.

UK researchers have found that workers with epilepsy or diabetes are no more likely than others to sustain workplace injuries, and warned that employers could be applying "unwarranted limitations" on them.