Workplace early-intervention programs play a crucial role in preventing mental health problems escalating, and have helped one white-collar worker realise her back and neck pain was exacerbated by anxiety, according to occupational physician Dr Andrea James.
A Fair Work Commission full bench has found a presidential member relied on a "potential significant error of fact" in finding an employee seriously injured in a skydiving accident was capable of performing the inherent requirements of his role. Meanwhile, another full bench has quashed a decision to reinstate a worker who breached safety policies.
Employers have been urged to ensure job rotation includes tasks that aren't physically taxing, after researchers found blue-collar workers who perform multiple physically demanding tasks are at significant risk of long-term sick leave.
Workers in the health sector are at significant risk of being bullied and harassed because employers are failing to tackle the issue through risk management frameworks or hold senior staff accountable for inappropriate behaviour, the Victorian Auditor-General has found.
An intervention that enforced the proper use of safety gloves significantly reduced workers' exposure to hazardous chemicals and the risk of developing occupational skin disease, Belgian researchers say.
A major employer has outlined the steps it is taking to ensure workers have "ownership" of wellbeing and support services, in its response to a report on paramedic suicides.
An employment "specialist" has been ordered to pay more than $20,000 to a worker it sacked without notice immediately after a meeting on her return-to-work program.
Health problems associated with occupational sitting aren't mitigated by daily vigorous exercise, according to a new Safe Work Australia-commissioned report, which warns excessive sitting and physical inactivity are separate issues.
