Employment Relations Update
Working with and respecting our team members
sexually harassed would be offended, humiliated, or intimidated.
Further to our most recent webinar and ER Newsletter, we have identified a need to refresh employers on the areas to be aware in your workplace. We acknowledge that the Christmas, New Year and traditional holiday season is clearly one of our busiest but exciting periods for our hospitality and associated industries. With this in mind, this article continues the focus and awareness of having a respectful, collaborative and safe work environment. We appreciate that work pressures can heighten emotions and may create a potentially unsafe work environment – maybe not intentional – however the test is always how it makes people feel as a result of an action or comment. The support and educational information referenced herein, and previous communications, is not just for the traditional busy and workplace pressure periods, but at all times. It is incumbent upon all workplaces to ensure employees are free to attend the workplace free from any form of bullying and/or harassment and discrimination, be it unintended or wilful and deliberate. To assist in providing the most up to date and comprehensive overview we have referenced Fair Work ( https://bit.ly/3ZyfrmW ) in providing clear and lawful definitions and assistance.
Some forms of sexual harassment can also be considered bullying if the behaviour is repeated or continuous. But unlike bullying, sexual harassment does not need to be continuous or repeated behaviour, it can be a one-off event. There is also no need to establish a risk to health and safety.
Source reference: https://bit.ly/49wUtcF .
Discrimination in the workplace
Bullying is different from discrimination. The Fair Work Act prohibits an employer from taking adverse action against an employee for discriminatory reasons, including their sex, race, religion, or gender. Adverse action can include firing or demoting someone. Bullying does not have to be related to a person’s or group’s characteristics. Adverse action does not have to have happened for bullying to occur.
Source reference: https://bit.ly/3ZCuUSO
Reasonable management action
Reasonable management action that is carried out in a reasonable way is not bullying. An employer or manager can: • make decisions about poor performance • take disciplinary action • direct and control the way work is carried out
What is Bullying?
Bullying happens at work when: • a person or group of people repeatedly behave unreasonably towards another worker or group of workers • the behaviour creates a risk to health and safety
Management action that is not carried out in a reasonable way may be considered bullying.
Protection from bullying in the workplace
Examples of bullying include: •
behaving aggressively towards others teasing or playing practical jokes
The laws to stop bullying under the Fair Work Act only apply to certain workers in Australia. A worker includes: • an employee • a contractor or subcontractor • an outworker • an apprentice or a trainee • an intern • a student gaining work experience • some volunteers
•
• pressuring someone to behave inappropriately • excluding someone from work-related events • unreasonable work demands
Sexual harassment in the workplace
Under the Fair Work Act, sexual harassment at work happens when a worker or group of workers: • makes an unwelcome sexual advance • makes an unwelcome request for sexual favours • engages in other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature in relation to another worker
ER Enquiries? Contact Merv Saltmarsh E: merv@tha.asn.au Ph: 0407 869 924
To be sexual harassment, it has to be reasonable to expect that there is a possibility that the worker being
29 Tasmanian Hospitality Review Oct/Nov Edition
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