A recent ruling upholding the sacking of a worker, who failed to disclose a longstanding health issue, shows that holding employees to account for complying with their own health and safety duties forms part of an employer's obligations, a senior safety and employment lawyer says.
A small business and a government department have entered into WHS undertakings after a "volunteer" was seriously injured in a fall. The department has also committed to spending millions on a new WHS reporting system for its 31,000 employees.
A PCBU has been convicted and fined $180,000 after a visiting contractor leant on an unsecured fence in a restricted area and fell into a pit. A judge found the PCBU failed to comply with a Code of Practice requirement to ensure the fence could withstand the force of a person falling or leaning against it.
Employers have been urged to create proper onboarding programs for new managers, and give them the skills to manage up, with a large proportion of new middle managers being unprepared for their responsibilities and experiencing burnout.
A worker who was charged with the manslaughter of another worker, in a runaway-forklift incident, has been convicted and fined for a section-28 contravention of WHS laws, in a first-of-its-kind case highlighting the potential multifaceted consequences of safety failings.
One in seven Australian workers admit to using technology to s-xually harass someone at work, but many don't believe it is a workplace issue, according to a major report, which explains what employers can do to tackle the issue.