Browsing: Jurisdiction (National) | Page 8

A worker has unsuccessfully claimed he was unfairly sacked for raising safety concerns, with a commission hearing a safety regulator investigated and dismissed his concerns, and finding he was sacked for being unable to perform the inherent requirements of his role.

A company and its director have been charged with WHS recklessness, which was allegedly identified during an investigation into a helicopter crash that occurred just moments after a worker suspended under the aircraft was cut free and fell to his death.

Employers of workers in an at-risk group have been urged to rethink their mental health strategies to support those with suicidal thoughts and other issues, with a caution that "practice has surpassed research".

Workers will be protected from the health and safety risks associated with "availability creep" and excessive hours through the right to "refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact, or attempted contact, from an employer" outside of working hours, under agreed legislative changes.

A psychologically injured worker has been given the green light to pursue an unfair dismissal remedy, after his employer wrongly determined, from his prolonged absence, that he had abandoned his employment.

A regulator's claim that to prevent double-dipping it is entitled to recover compensation payments from a worker who received a s-x-discrimination settlement, could, if accepted, have a "chilling effect on the bringing of such complaints" and undermine anti-discrimination laws, a full Federal Court has warned.

Researchers have urged employers to hone their approach to near-miss reports, and involve workers in the process, after finding inadequate responses lead to consequences beyond preventing future incidents.

Two PCBUs that failed to consult on task planning and mechanical aids have been fined over a teenager's death, while a business owner with a long history of safety breaches has been fined for endangering motorists through the performance of "poor quality" work next to a highway.

A commissioner did not make a mistake when he ordered an employer to reinstate a worker, who had undergone spinal surgery, without explicitly finding he was capable of safely carrying out his role, a full bench has found.

• Five deaths in four days trigger WHS compliance warning;
  
• SWA issues update on WHS changes for stone ban; and
  
• New WHS Code commences, fulfils Dreamworld recommendation.