Browsing: Absenteeism/sick leave | Page 4

• New WHS licensing regime made in NSW;
  
• FDV leave benefit doubled for NSW agencies; and
  
• Project targeted in "new era" of WHS enforcement.

• Employer cherry-picked expert's workplace injury report; and
  
• "Long COVID" support service launched in Tas.

A first-of-its-kind study has shown exposure to work-related violence or threats increases the odds of certified sickness absence due to mental disorders by 46 per cent, highlighting the importance of comprehensive risk assessments to identify and control potential hazards.

The Fair Work Commission has ordered an employer to immediately cease the automatic forwarding of a worker's emails to her manager, in upholding the worker's bid for stop-bullying orders. It also made orders against the "adversarial" applicant.

• Sick leave restored under Qld's new COVID arrangements;
  
• WHS review targeting HSR provisions in Qld;
  
• "Injured" worker jailed over secret gig economy work; and
  
• Data-matching tools catching injury fraudsters.

Older workers involved in a workplace "senior program" had a 60 per cent lower risk of early disability retirement, a study has shown. The authors say employers can avoid extensive sick leave by promoting strategies to maintain work ability and prevent musculoskeletal pain.

A major health and safety organisation's evaluation of a mysterious illness cluster, among dozens of police officers who executed a search warrant, has identified issues around the use of personal protective equipment, and prompted disease-control recommendations that apply to all industries.

The risk of lower back pain (LBP) associated with workaholism differs depending on the level of work engagement felt by the employee, a study has found. The authors say that by improving job resources to increase engagement, employers can avoid the high levels of absenteeism associated with LBP.

Australia is expected to see a surge in flu, respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19 cases over the next few weeks, and hygiene services experts have called for businesses to protect themselves and their employees by creating safer and more hygienic work environments.

A paramedic who claimed she was unable to comply with a COVID-19 vaccine mandate because of her "flu-like symptoms" has been blocked from pursuing her late unfair dismissal claim, with a Fair Work Commission full bench finding her illness was not a valid reason for her late application or her vaccine non-compliance.