An employer that "chose to play Russian roulette" with workers' lives has been fined $600,000 for OHS breaches that resulted in a worker suffering serious injuries.
Two major employers have failed to convince a court of appeal that their fatality-related OHS charges should be quashed because the relevant conduct was covered by road safety laws, with maximum fines of just $7300.
An employer has been fined over an illegible safety sign and inadequate guarding, which was ultimately fixed for $400, after a worker's arm was entangled in a machine's rotating parts.
This update outlines all the most important workplace safety and workers' compensation developments from July, August and September, including one of the highest safety fines in Australian history, and legislative changes in every jurisdiction.
A worker's dismissal for fighting was harsh given his employer's history of tolerating "foul language" from both managers and employees, the Fair Work Commission has found.
An employer directly discriminated against an injured worker when it sacked him for being unable to perform the inherent requirements of his role without accurately determining what that role actually was, a tribunal has found.
Employers are being urged to participate in National Safe Work Month, which kicks off today, and reminded that even the most safety-conscious companies can improve their processes through the many free events being held until the end of October.
