Browsing: Industrial/employment issues | Page 173

Spreading "misinformation or ill-will" against a worker constitutes bullying under the Fair Work Act, a commissioner has found in advising a company to develop policies on how workers in neighbouring businesses should treat each other.

• Safety breach wasn't serious enough for dismissal; and
  
• Record-long entry permit ban upheld by full bench.

A national employer has increased hazard and incident reporting, improved communication between employees and leaders and reduced its lost-time injury frequency rate under a three-year safety and wellbeing strategic plan.

The Fair Work Commission has upheld an employer's decision to sack two workers for using a "non-designated" tool for a high-risk task.

An employer that knew a worker hadn't been coping with his job should have given him more than 24 hours to defend serious misconduct allegations made against him, a commission has ruled in upholding his unfair dismissal claim.

A Supreme Court judge has applied the "eggshell psyche principle" in quashing an earlier decision to deny an injured worker compensation because her perceptions of bullying weren't reasonable.

The Fair Work Commission has rejected a sacked worker's claim that he didn't deliberately place his hand in a hazardous machine, as contended by two witnesses, despite finding there was "no obvious reason" why he would do such a thing.

A tribunal has criticised an employer for failing to meet with a psychologically injured worker to resolve the management issues that contributed to his condition and help him return him to work.

Comcare focused too heavily on an employer's reasonable administrative action when it decided an employee who had been bullied and harassed wasn't entitled to workers' compensation, a tribunal has found.

The Queensland Government has promised to introduce domestic violence leave, tackle workplace bullying, and adopt all recommendations of an independent review of sexual harassment and bullying among firefighters.