An employer that neglected to tell contractors that a structure they were scheduled to work on had failed an inspection, resulting in a roof collapsing under a worker, has failed to overturn its OHS penalty.
A company owner has been jailed for recklessly endangering and killing a worker. Meanwhile, a major employer has been fined nearly $500,000 for threatening an HSR who refused to endorse an unsafe work method, and another employer has been fined over a quarry death.
OHS Alert is taking a break for the Christmas and New Year period, and we're leaving you with a list of some of the most popular of our 800 articles from the last 12 months.
In a case prompting renewed calls for industrial manslaughter laws, a PCBU that failed to comply with its own safety management manual or apply available controls has been convicted over a death, while another employer has been fined over a painter's fatal fall.
A union official's high Fair Work fine (and second personal payment order) is more modest than it might have been, with the Federal Court agreeing that at the time of his offences, it was unclear whether he needed a permit to enter a site at the request of a health and safety representative.
A worker whose eye was punctured by a screw has unsuccessfully argued that his employer breached its duty of care in failing to do more than provide safety glasses to mitigate the risk of eye injuries.
Two PCBUs and a director have been fined a total of nearly $500,000 after an unsupervised 14-year-old holiday worker was killed, while an employer has been fined over a violent attack on a worker, after a union officially requested the safety prosecution.
Australian researchers have urged employers to ensure their workers understand that physical activity outside of work does little to mitigate the negative health effects of prolonged sitting at work.
A company director has successfully argued his safety breaches didn't warrant the near-record fine imposed on him, with an appeals court finding he had been negligent rather than reckless. Meanwhile, a number of employers have been charged and entered undertakings after a child was killed and a young trainee fell six metres.
> SIA demands free safety-related Australian Standards; > Workplace Safety portfolio created for new Vic cabinet; and > SA introduces Bill to scrap labour-hire scheme with WHS test.
