Browsing: Violence | Page 8

Employers have been reminded of their WHS duty to protect their staff from violence, with more than 50 organisations, including major companies and safety regulators, signing an industry statement supporting the eradication of customer disrespect, abuse and violence from workplaces.

In this Q&A with OHS Alert, the managing director of Australia's "first workplace ombudsman service" examines the unique WHS risks faced by parliamentary workers and what can be done to mitigate them, providing food for thought for all organisations.

In an exhaustive analysis of the evolving area of employer vicarious liability, a superior court has found a company is not liable for the injury-causing actions of a security guard who drew his gun and pointed it at the head of a co-worker.

• New WHS Code made under Commonwealth jurisdiction;
  
• Frontline workers protected by lengthy jail terms in NSW;
  
• Dust compensation changes commence in NSW; and
  
• WHS notification rules for lead (Pb) tweaked in SA.

There is an urgent need for Australian employers to view domestic and family violence (DFV) as a work safety issue, a Monash University study has shown. The authors recommend prioritising DFV policies and the cultivation of compassionate, informed workplace cultures.

An employer has been deemed liable for the psychological injury sustained by a worker who was attacked, most likely by the partner of a "high risk" client, on her way to work. A judge found the employer failed to act on its knowledge of the immediate risk the partner posed to the worker.

A commission has overturned a decision to deny compensation to a worker exposed to p-rnographic material and abusive outbursts from her manager, rejecting a regulator's claims that the two had a civil relationship and the worker's psychiatric injury arose from reasonable management action.

• New WHS licensing regime made in NSW;
  
• FDV leave benefit doubled for NSW agencies; and
  
• Project targeted in "new era" of WHS enforcement.

• Employers' WHS duties extend to laptop cords; and
  
• "Scathing" mine reports trigger WHS audits in SA.

A first-of-its-kind study has shown exposure to work-related violence or threats increases the odds of certified sickness absence due to mental disorders by 46 per cent, highlighting the importance of comprehensive risk assessments to identify and control potential hazards.