Browsing: Psychosocial issues | Page 127

Employee assistance programs have been linked to increased productivity and lower absence rates, but few organisations and workers in some industries are taking advantage of them, according to AccessEAP CEO Sally Kirkright.

An employer might have prevented a worker's death if it ensured its maintenance regime covered vehicle modifications, and cracked down on alcohol consumption at work, an ATSB investigation has found.

The High Court's decision in Commonwealth Bank of Australia v Barker has "allayed the fears" of employers by blocking a new avenue for them to be sued over workplace bullying and other issues, according to Sparke Helmore Lawyers.

An employer has successfully appealed a decision requiring it to reinstate a worker who was sacked for failing a drug test after crashing a ferry.

The Fair Work Commission's first substantive stop-bullying order has been amended to remove some of the less practical conditions required of the respondent.

The Fair Work Commission will allow an employer to be represented by a lawyer in an anti-bullying case to speed up the process, but has rejected its alternative claim that its managers and the alleged bullies are incapable of representing the company or themselves.

A worker who suffered a psychiatric injury when she was turned down for a promotion has been awarded workers' compensation, after the AAT found her manager - who held her in "very low regard" - should have been excluded from the recruitment process.

The $130,000 Oracle s-xual harassment case shows that "well-intentioned but unskilled attempts" to respond to workers' complaints can cause as much damage as harassment itself, according to a lawyer.

A worker who claims he was unfairly tested for drugs and sacked - less than three weeks after telling his manager he was trying to kick his cannabis addiction - posed an "unmanageable" safety risk to his employer, the Fair Work Commission has found.

An HR manager acted inappropriately in sending the details of her bullying complaint against her CEO to a potential witness who worked for another company, the Federal Circuit Court has ruled in dismissing her adverse action claim.