Bullying is the attempt to oppress, torment, domineer or coerce someone else. It can take many forms such as verbal threats, insults and cyberbullying. These behaviours have deeply harmful and sometimes deadly consequences. Sadly bullying is not something that all people grow out of once they reach adulthood, so keeping employees safe from this kind of unkind treatment at work is a current and serious concern. At just 14 years
When a Linfox employee made disparaging comments about company managers on his Facebook page, the company fired him for serious misconduct. The employee applied to Fair Work Australia for unfair dismissal. The Commissioner sided with the employee. Why? Because Linfox did not have a policy covering employee use of social media. In the complete absence of a policy defining appropriate conduct, the employee could not be guilty of any
Rates of sexual assault and harassment as well as threatening or abusive conduct have been declining in the public sector. Worryingly however, reports of bullying, racism and discrimination are on the increase. The annual WA Public Sector Commission 2016/17 report revealed that 534 minor misconduct complaints were received during that year. Comprising of 969 separate allegations, 64% (621 complaints) were regarding staff behaviour with almost one third of those
