A worker's repeated failure to perform "Take 2" risk assessments to review his surroundings for safety hazards justified his dismissal, a commission has found.
A management company accused of breaching work safety laws, in failing to instruct retail staff not to walk near mobile plant, has spent $130,000 overhauling its loading dock policies and committed nearly $200,000 to other rectifications under an enforceable undertaking.
Past inconsistencies in disciplining workers for safety breaches can still undermine the validity of dismissals after employers tighten their enforcement of rules, a commission has highlighted in a case involving a worker sacked for leaving a designated pedestrian walkway.
One in three Australian workers who sustain a physical injury experience serious secondary mental illnesses, but few of these people access mental health services that could accelerate their recovery and return to work, according to a study.
An appeals court has confirmed that a major employer negligently transferred an already traumatised worker back into a role where she was exposed to violent and confronting scenes.
A company and its director have been fined a total of $175,000 for dangerous goods offences uncovered by police investigating a burglary. Meanwhile, the ACTU has issued heat and smoke alerts and called for WHS laws that "deal with the reality of climate change".
In light of the ongoing catastrophic bushfires in NSW and other parts of the country, a WHS regulator has urged employers to revise their emergency plans to ensure they comply with safety laws and protect workers. Meanwhile, a company director has been prosecuted after two workers were seriously injured within two hours on a non-commissioned machine.
Employers must implement and enforce safe systems of work for seemingly straightforward tasks like stacking materials, a fatality and a $400,000 fine have shown. Meanwhile, regulators have issued alerts after workers were killed in telehandler and hoist incidents.
