Browsing: WHS decisions (National) | Page 7

In an ongoing case involving a worker claiming she was bullied by being barred from working from home, a court has clarified when a person has a workplace right to expect their employer to comply with the Fair Work Act's anti-bullying provisions.

An employer has successfully argued it did not unfairly dismiss an absent worker after an independent medical examination (IME) found "malignant resentment" prevented her from ever being fit to return.

• Recklessness fine followed by site-preservation conviction; and
  
• Refugee advocates concerned by developments in WHS cases.

A worker who claims she was bullied through her managers withholding resources like work cars from her, and excluding her from social events, has been denied stop-bullying orders.

A business owner could be jailed for up to five years, after he was charged with reckless conduct relating to a similar incident to one that recently attracted a record WHS penalty. Meanwhile, a train driver who was accused of recklessly using his mobile phone has been sentenced.

A worker's "cruel and menacing" comments about a co-worker, in a private Teams chat with a third colleague, posed a "serious and imminent risk to the safety of the co-worker", a commission has ruled.

• High Court's urination ruling provides "comfort" to multiple sectors; and
  
• Executives reminded of harassment-reporting duties with new projects.

A worker who attempted to return to work after suffering a non-work-related injury has been awarded $44,000 in damages, after a court found his employer discriminated against him by ignoring medical advice and refusing to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate his return.

The High Court has quashed a ruling that a company is vicariously liable for the injury-causing act of an intoxicated employee urinating on a sleeping colleague in an accomodation facility.

A worker who was treated poorly after he asked his boss not to call him a "c-nt" has been awarded at least $93,500, with a court highlighting the worker's rights under health and safety laws and finding his employer's decision to dismiss him was influenced by his complaint.