whs & Fair Work compliance Prevention of Bullying, Discrimination and Harassment in the Workplace whs & Fair Work compliance

Regulatory body’s The government departments that have been established to resolve workplace issue in relation to bullying, discrimination and harassment are: Fair Work Commission The Anti-Discrimination Board Australian Human Rights Commission Each department has its own role to play. However, your first course of address in regard to any workplace issue is to speak with the most appropriate person within the business. This training will provide you with an understanding of how to go about this.

What is workplace bullying? Bullying is defined as repeated and unreasonable behaviour directed towards a worker or group of workers that creates a risk to health and safety. To understand this definition it is important to know that repeated behaviour refers to the persistent nature of the behaviour and can involve a range of behaviours over time. Workers have an obligation to ensure their own safety and that of others within the workplace.  

What are some examples of workplace bullying? Sometimes situations can be labelled bullying when in fact they are not. So let’s be clear on the types of behaviour, whether intentional or unintentional, that may be considered to be workplace bullying and that are unacceptable, this may include: aggressive and intimidating conduct; belittling or humiliating comments; victimisation; spreading malicious rumours; practical jokes or initiation; exclusion from work related events; unreasonable work expectations.

What are some examples of workplace bullying? Additionally, abusive, insulting or offensive language or comments; unjustified criticism or complaints; continuously and deliberately excluding someone from workplace activities; withholding information that is vital for effective work performance; setting unreasonable timelines or constantly changing deadlines; setting tasks that are unreasonably below or beyond a person’s skill level; denying access to information, supervision, consultation or resources such that it has a detriment to the worker; spreading misinformation or malicious rumours; changing work arrangements, such as rosters and leave, to deliberately inconvenience a particular worker or worker’s; excessive scrutiny at work.

What are some examples of workplace bullying? Understanding the types of behaviours that are considered “bullying” helps us look at our own actions and the way we conduct ourselves. You may like to ask yourself, “do I tick any of these boxes? If I do, I should think about how I can change and stop putting myself and fellow work mates at risk.”

What is NOT Workplace Bullying? Reasonable management action conducted in a reasonable way is not workplace bullying. It is reasonable for managers and supervisors to allocate work and to give fair and reasonable feedback on a worker’s performance.

How does workplace bullying occur? Workplace bullying can be directed at a single worker or group of workers and be carried out by one or more workers. It can occur: downwards from managers to workers sideways between workers upwards from workers to supervisors or managers. It is important to remember that bullying may not necessarily occur while the worker is actively engaged in work, it can occur in the course of employment and include lunch breaks, work trips outside of normal working hours, work social functions, or even working from home.

How does workplace bullying occur? Bullying and workplace violence Workplace violence is any action, incident or behaviour in which a person is assaulted, threatened, harmed or injured in circumstances relating to their work. If you experience incidents of workplace violence (i.e. physical assault or the threat of physical assault) you should also report the matter to the police given the criminal nature of these matters.

What are the impacts of workplace bullying? Workplace bullying can be harmful to a range of people including the person experiencing it, those who witness it, family and friends. Workplace bullying often results in significant negative consequences for an individual’s health and wellbeing. Negative consequences for an individual’s health and wellbeing include amongst others: Psychological issues Sleeping problems Poor work performance Suicidal thoughts.

What can be done to prevent workplace bullying?   Workplace bullying is simply not tolerated!! Early intervention is the best prevention!! You can tell the other person that their behaviour is unwelcome and ask that it STOPS!! But only approach the other person if you feel safe or confident enough to manage the situation. If you decide to approach the other person be sure to discuss the issue in a non- confrontational manner. If you do not feel confident to manage the situation yourself then seek assistance from someone you trust will be able to help.

Discrimination race; pregnancy; colour; Discrimination occurs when someone is treated unfairly or badly compared to others, often because they are seen as different. Discrimination is where someone in the workplace is disadvantaged because of a personal characteristic, including: race; pregnancy; colour; family carer’s responsibilities; sex; sexual preference; political opinion; age; national extraction; physical or mental disability; social origin. marital status religion

Discrimination It is not acceptable for an employer to undertake any of the following because of any of the personal characteristics outlined on the previous slide: not provide the correct entitlements, like pay or leave; fire an employee; change an employee’s job to their disadvantage; treat an employee differently than others; not hire someone; offer a potential employee different (an unfair) terms and conditions for the job, when compared to other employees.

Discrimination Direct Discrimination Direct discrimination is pretty straightforward in most cases. Discrimination generally occurs when someone is treated less favourably than others because they have a particular personal characteristic or belong to a particular group of people, such as race, colour, sex, sexual preference, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, religion, pregnancy, family carer’s responsibilities, political opinion, national extraction, social origin. Indirect discrimination Indirect discrimination is a little harder to detect and occurs when an unreasonable condition is imposed that disadvantages a person with a personal characteristic protected by law. Sometimes, a policy, rule or practice seems fair because it applies to everyone equally; however, at a closer look shows that some people are being treated unfairly. This is because some people or groups of people are unable or less able to comply with the rule or are disadvantaged because of it. If the policy or practice is not reasonable it may be indirect discrimination.

What is harassment? Harassment generally involves unwelcome behaviour that intimidates, offends or humiliates a person because of a particular characteristic such as race, colour, age, gender, disability, religion, sex, sexual preference, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, pregnancy, family carer’s responsibilities, political opinion, national extraction, social origin. Harassment can be any type of behaviour someone does not want and has no desire to return. Harassment can be physical, verbal or written.

What is harassment? Examples of harassment include: Material that is racist, sexist, homophobic, and so on, that is displayed in the workplace, circulated on paper or email, sms, social media, put on a computer, sent by fax, uploaded to the internet or put in someone’s belongings. Verbal abuse or comments that put down or stereotype people because of their personal characteristics like sex, pregnancy, race, age, marital status, sexual preference and so on. In some cases, one act will be enough to create harassment, but in other cases there will need to be a persistent pattern of behaviour. In each case the offender should be informed that their behaviour is unwanted and offensive and will be reported if continued. It is sometimes difficult to know whether other people will find your behaviour acceptable. You should be careful not to risk being misunderstood, because misunderstandings often lead to complaints. Remember that some people find particular types of behaviour offensive even though other people would not. The behaviour must always be considered from the point of view of the person receiving it. It is no defence to harassment that you did not mean to cause offence.

What is sexual harassment? Sexual harassment is unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature in relation to you. It happens when a reasonable person would expect that you’d feel offended, humiliated or intimidated by the conduct. Sexual harassment is not attraction, interaction, flirtation or friendship between people which is mutual or consensual. Sexual harassment does not have to be deliberate or repeated to be illegal. A person who sexually harasses someone else is responsible for their behaviour.

Vilification There are several forms of vilification, each of which are against the law, including: racial; homosexual; HIVAIDS; transgender. Vilification means any public act that could incite or encourage hatred, serious contempt for, or severe ridicule towards someone or a group of people because of their race, homosexuality, HIVAIDS or transgender status.

What should I do if I feel I have been bullied, discriminated against or harassed? Early intervention is the best prevention. You can tell the other person that their behaviour is unwelcome and ask that it STOPS!! However, only approach the other person if you feel safe or confident enough to manage the situation. If you decide to approach the other person, be sure to discuss the issue in a non-confrontational manner. If you believe you have been bullied, harassed or discriminated against you must deal with the matter sooner rather than later. Address your concerns with a person you feel comfortable with and who has sufficient responsibility to address the matter through the appropriate channels.

Following the law In general the goods and services provided at Clubs must be open to everyone, regardless of their race, ethnic group, religion, gender, pregnancy, marital status, disability, age (apart from underage gambling and alcohol consumption), homosexuality, or transgender status. Employees must treat everyone fairly and equally. This applies to all services provided by the Club, such as booking functions arranged by any groups, clubs or societies.

Refusing entry, service or baring people Customers should be served on a first come, first served basis so that everyone is treated fairly. Everyone who provides services at the Club should take care to treat all customers courteously. The Liquor Act allows a Club to refuse entry, refuse service, and remove someone from the premises if they disrupt the orderly conduct of the business. Refusing entry to someone, who has to wear a hat or scarf due to a medical condition could be disability discrimination. Refusing entry to someone who wears a turban, headscarves or burka could be indirect racial discrimination.

Termination of employment Employees have the right to be treated fairly in relation to disciplinary matters, issuing of warnings and dismissal agreements.

Help Help is available from life line. Life line provides 24/7 crisis support and suicide prevention services.  131114  www.lifeline.org.au