> WHS amendments mandate "competent" managers in SA; > WHS conviction and $400k fine followed by NSW blitz; and > Beaconsfield rescuer fronts worker and family support group.
An employer has been fined $400,000 over the death of an inexperienced worker, in a decision that could jeopardise its ability to tender for Commonwealth-funded work.
Working from home can conceal, from employers, signs that workers are at risk of domestic and family violence. Managers must take steps to address this work-related issue, a senior employment lawyer says.
Employers have wellbeing-related duties to contractors and subcontractors and need to think outside the square and build relationships with those who might be suffering from poor mental health, a workplace mental wellness expert says.
A commission has stood behind its decision to stand over rather than extinguish a worker's stop-bullying application, after hearing he perceived being excluded from his workplace and otherwise bullied while working remotely for the coronavirus pandemic.
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.
Employers have been warned they bear the onus of ensuring their sites comply with the new COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria, which include stringent PPE requirements and workforce caps in many cases, while doctors have warned of the consequences of never "switching off" while working from home during the pandemic.
NSW has lived up to its promise to step up enforcement of coronavirus health orders by fining 10 employers in a blitz. Meanwhile, a Victorian workplace with COVID-19 cases has been closed following Fair Work Commission talks and a visit from an occupational physician.
With Victoria recording 723 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the State Government has extended its face mask rule to all regions and vowed to do more to control the work-related pandemic risks, while NSW has extended its hygiene marshal requirement to another industry.
> Employer fined $850k over missing SWMS and fatality; > Individual convicted for hindering WHS investigation; and > More WHS offences attract on-the-spot fines in NT.
