A manager did not act unreasonably in accusing a worker of "stealing time" from his employer and "ambushing" him with performance concerns in a meeting, causing the worker to develop depression and anxiety, a commission has found.
Employers that issue "worker permits" to employees capable of working from home, or without implementing a COVID Safe Plan, could be fined $100,000 under pandemic restrictions commencing in Victoria tonight. Meanwhile, NSW has established a permit system for workers entering the State from Victoria, and Queensland has closed its border to NSW, with exemptions for essential workers.
> Daily inspections missed height risk; > Alternative safety plan overridden before electric shock; and > Three-year strategy focuses on safety of Vic healthcare workers.
Employers could be fined nearly $200,000 for failing to comply with new notification regulations for COVID-19 in Victoria. Meanwhile, a WHS regulator has issued an alert to help duty holders identify fake respirators during the pandemic.
A PCBU that failed to complete checklists required by a safe work method statement has been handed a low-range category-2 WHS fine, after mobile equipment tipped over on an incident-strewn infrastructure project that attracted unprecedented government scrutiny.
Dreamworld theme park owner Ardent Leisure Ltd has been charged with three category-2 breaches of its WHS duty to "other persons", after the park's 30-year failure to identify and control risks on its Thunder River Rapids Ride resulted in the October 2016 deaths of four patrons.
In this article, OHS Alert reviews all the need-to-know workplace safety and compensation developments from the second quarter of 2020, including Australia's first industrial manslaughter conviction, recklessness cases, work-related pandemic restrictions and wholesale legislative changes.
A worker's many safety breaches were "so fundamental that he should not have required training to prevent them", a commission has found in upholding his dismissal. It heard he attempted to drive electric plant while it was still plugged into the wall, before blaming his failing on his employer.
A company director jailed over the death of a worker has unsuccessfully claimed, on appeal, that his conviction and sentence should be quashed because he could not have eliminated the relevant risk through the control measures identified by the prosecution.
Employers have an obligation to proactively investigate all relevant facts before deciding to dismiss an employer on the grounds of poor mental or physical health, an appeals court has ruled. It found, however, that a public servant was not harshly or unjustly "ill-health retired".
