A bullying case in the Federal Court imposed a record $2.8 million fine on an employer after its CEO was found to have bullied and intimidated an employee. 

The court found the employer’s response to the incident lacking, which highlights the risks of inadequate policies and responses when it comes to workplace bullying in Australia.

“Many businesses are not aware that they can be held vicariously liable for acts of bullying that occur in the workplace unless they can show that they have taken all reasonable steps to prevent the conduct from occurring,” says Ed Austin-Woods, Senior Associate at Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors.

In the 2023–24 financial year, 883 Stop Bullying applications were filed with the Fair Work Commission. However, only 56 decisions were recorded during the same period.

“The Commission has powers to make stop bullying orders where it is satisfied that a worker has been bullied by an individual or group and there is a risk that the worker will continue to be bullied at work,” says Mr Austin-Woods.

Examples of stop bullying orders may include changes in working arrangements and orders requiring one or more individuals to stop specified behaviour.

“It is also important for employers to remember that bullying can have a highly negative impact on staff morale, productivity and engagement if complaints are not addressed in an appropriate and satisfactory manner,” he adds.

 

What is bullying?

Bullying is defined as repeated and unreasonable behaviour directed towards a worker or a group of workers that creates a risk to health and safety.

Mr Austin-Woods explains that examples of overt and direct forms of bullying can include insulting language towards a worker, gossiping about a worker, comments about a worker’s appearance or displaying offensive material.

However, there are also more covert and indirect forms of bullying, which can include a manager overwhelming a staff member with unreasonable amounts of work, setting unrealistic timeframes, constantly shifting goals or repeatedly not inviting someone to meetings.

“Bullying is usually repeated behaviour. An isolated incident may contravene other policies of an employer such as its Code of Conduct, but it will not generally constitute bullying,” says Mr Austin-Woods. 

It’s also worth noting that management actions such as performance management, implementing workplace change and setting goals are not bullying, as long as they are reasonable and conducted in a reasonable manner.

“Reasonable" is the key word for employers to bear in mind. Employers obviously need to be able to conduct processes like performance management, however, these processes always need to be handled in a reasonable way,” he adds.

 

Why a workplace bullying and harassment policy is essential

Having clear policies in place is the key to defining what is and isn’t reasonable. It also helps employees understand what’s acceptable and what’s not.

“Employers should also have a complaints management procedure so that employees clearly understand who they should file complaints with and the process that will be conducted in relation to their complaint. This will provide employees with confidence that any complaint that they raise will be addressed in an appropriate manner,” Mr Austin-Woods says.

This also means keeping policies up to date, training existing and new employees on these policies and holding refresher courses so they clearly understand what is required. This also assists in demonstrating that an employer has taken all reasonable steps to stop this type of conduct from occurring.

 

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