In a shot in the arm for a paramedic transferred 350km away after an investigator found he bullied a female colleague, a full bench has ruled that bullying falls within a "spectrum of seriousness" and ordered the redetermination of whether he engaged in serious misconduct.
Workers in NSW will need to secure a ruling from the State IRC that bullying or harassment has occurred before they seek compensation for a related psychological injury, under draft legislation that will also add gender equality as an object of state workplace laws.
Workers should not refuse to resolve bullying at a workplace level just because they have an anti-bullying case underway, the FWC has found in dismissing a chief executive's claim against her husband during divorce proceedings, finding only a single instance of unreasonable conduct.
The NSW Government will establish a bullying and harassment jurisdiction in the State IRC in an attempt to prevent psychological injuries, as part of wider reforms to the workers' compensation scheme.
The FWC has found a supervisor's "grossly inappropriate" treatment of young subordinates amounted to a significant breach of his obligations and warranted his summary dismissal.
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It would have been "sensible" for a worker to take up the "generous support" offered by his employer, rather than filing an "unwarranted" anti-bullying claim, the FWC has ruled, finding a performance management plan, letter of expectations and a warning amounted to reasonable management action.
The FWC has confirmed that there are only two elements of the "broad" definition of a "worker" under anti-bullying legislation, in rejecting a challenge to an unpaid board member's eligibility to bring a claim.
An executive on workers compensation for a "psychological injury" related to a stumble and strain while working from home has failed to secure stop-bullying orders against her employer and a HR business partner or establish they put her at risk by asking her to return to the office following a domestic violence incident.
Only a quarter of scientists who sought assistance from HR after experiencing bullying or intimidation found them supportive, while 39% found HR "useless" and 19% said they "actively made things worse", according to a survey conducted by Griffith University academics.
