Workers often see referrals to employee assistance programs as "cloaking punishment", but establishing workplace EAP committees that liaise with vendors can help eradicate pushback, a human resources management expert says.
A "critical and insensitive" manager who routinely swore at his subordinates in an attempt to motivate them to meet purported "German demands" has lost his adverse action case, with a court finding his behaviour warranted instant dismissal and he wasn't the victim of WHS breaches.
The recent major review of a safety regulator should prompt employers to adopt a "two birds, one stone" mindset for managing their health and safety and human resources practices, a senior safety lawyer says.
A major employer has been found, for the second time, to be liable for a psychological injury sustained by a worker subjected to a "stringent" rule - banning him from speaking to female colleagues without supervision - while harassment allegations against him were investigated.
A worker who was required to take on management duties and sack a worker, despite not being trained in such processes, has been awarded compensation for a psychological injury, with a commission rejecting her employer's reasonable-action defence.
An "exasperated" manager did not bully workers by using allegedly hostile tones to "hustle" them to get on with their tasks, a commission has found, highlighting that managers are "entitled to some latitude" when assessing the manner they adopt to supervise personnel.
The Federal Court has ordered a redetermination of whether a worker's injury was caused by customer aggression or reasonable administrative action, finding an earlier decision in favour of the man failed to apply the correct legal test.
An appeals commission has upheld the psychological injury claim from a worker who was ridiculed for pushing for better COVID-safe standards. It rejected his employer's argument that his case was defeated by the fact that an alleged assault never occurred.
A commission has rejected a worker's claim that her superior expected her to work up to 60 hours a week and bullied her through excessive work requirements.