More than 70 per cent of the world's workers are exposed to health, safety and mental health risks created by climate change, which extend way beyond excessive heat, the International Labour Organisation has warned.
Suspended Sydney Flames basketball coach Shane Heal's failed claim that he was targeted for exercising workplace rights has highlighted the factors that constitute a safety complaint under employment law.
Reporting a safety incident is as important as the incident itself, a commission has reaffirmed in ordering the reinstatement of a worker sacked for failing to report an allegedly unsafe driving incident. His failure to report was mitigated by the fact that his supervisor witnessed and recorded the event, the commission found.
A worker who was bullied and called a "s-x offender" by colleagues, after being charged with historical abuse offences, has been awarded compensation for a psychological injury, with a commission hearing the bullying included being excluded from Christmas functions, and dismissing the employer's reasonable action defence.
Employers will be explicitly required to add "critical controls", as defined in international guidelines, to their safety management systems, under legislative amendments aimed at "facilitating the growth in high-reliability organisational (HRO) behaviour" in the resources sector.
A PCBU has been fined $450,000 for WHS breaches involving a worker being hit by a forklift, in a case that saw a director cleared of due diligence breaches.
An appeals court has confirmed that a step's defective non-slip strip, which was missed by safety inspections, remained in place through the negligence of two companies and caused a worker to fall, entitling him to more than $1 million in damages.