Three companies and a supervisor have been fined a total of more than $2.1 million over two serious mine safety incidents, including one where the supervisor removed warning signs from a hazardous area just moments before a worker was killed there.
A company director and three PCBUs, including an importer, have been handed pre-discount WHS fines totalling $1.25 million, after a worker suffered finger amputations on a machine previously shut down by a regulator.
An "exasperated" manager did not bully workers by using allegedly hostile tones to "hustle" them to get on with their tasks, a commission has found, highlighting that managers are "entitled to some latitude" when assessing the manner they adopt to supervise personnel.
A company director has been convicted and fined for a string of "disturbing" acts of bullying against two apprentices, including at a work Christmas party. A court found his company's safety failings were solely attributable to him.
Two PCBUs have been convicted and fined a total of more than $530,000 for multiple WHS contraventions, after a heavy object fell and smashed a glass atrium roof, seriously injuring a site worker and a passing courier.
A new worker sustained an amputation injury after receiving a five-minute training session on a hazardous machine with an out-of-reach emergency stop button, a court has found in fining her employer.
Employers need to educate remote employees on detaching from work after hours and making prudent decisions around working while ill, according to researchers examining the prevalence of presenteeism in working-from-home arrangements.
A commission has recommended a worker be provided with "self-awareness" and "conflict avoidance" training, finding a "shared language" between him and his supervisors could have prevented most of the 40 or so bullying allegations he raised in his stop-bullying bid.
A Victorian company that pleaded guilty to recklessly endangering an apprentice, while he was being supervised by the company director, has been fined $2.1 million - a penalty that is more than double the State's previous record safety fine for a single offence.
A leading legal expert on technology and the workplace has warned of the WHS risks and implications of using "bossware" to track workers' productivity, including that it can trigger cease-work orders under safety laws.