The employer of two supervisors who were convicted for recklessly attacking an apprentice, has been convicted and fined for failing to address bullying and harassment in its otherwise extensive WHS policies.
A supervisor directed a subcontractor to perform a task that resulted in the contractor breaching its own safe work method statement and seriously injured a worker, a judge has found. He ordered the supervisor's company to pay $145,000 in fines and costs over a risk it later eliminated with a $792 investment.
A PCBU accused of failing to separate pedestrians from mobile plant has become the first entity to be charged with industrial manslaughter under section 34C of the Queensland WHS Act. Its two company directors were charged with reckless conduct.
A worker who failed to tell his supervisor the area he was directed to work in was wet, before he slipped and fell two metres, was not contributorily negligent because he felt he had to comply with his orders, an appeals court has found.
Employers adopting automated systems should choose supervisors with "appropriate trust" in the systems to lead implementation and train workers, researchers from the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health say.
A supervisor who decided a worker was hard to manage and "needed to be dealt with", traumatised and psychologically injured her by intimidating her during a counselling meeting, the Federal Court has confirmed on appeal.
Workers who can mentally and physically detach from work after hours have fewer concentration problems, sleep better and are at lower risk of depression and exhaustion, according to a study on work breaks, which highlights the important role managers play in facilitating this behaviour.
