Workplace Bullying and Harassment not only leads to psychological harm to employees but can significantly affect your organisation’s reputation. A failure to understand and manage these issues can result in liability for employers and employees involved in a breach. Join Director, Joe Murphy and Senior Associate, Michal Roucek as they discuss how anti-discrimination laws and the Fair Work Act 2009 impose numerous restrictions on employers when making employment related decisions. The one hour webinar will over: - What is bullying and sexual harassment - Recent cases - Strategies for prevention of conduct - Avoiding vicarious liability Do you have any questions or concerns around workplace bullying and sexual harassment? Call us on 1300 565 846 for a confidential conversation. Watch the webinar recording here: https://www.ablawyers.com.au/Webinars/webinars-workplace-bullying-and-sexual-harassment

1. Bullying and Sexual
Harassment
Workplace Relations and Employment
Team of the Year
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2. ©2017 Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors. All Rights Reserved
Presenters
2
Michal Roucek
Senior Associate
Joe Murphy
Director

3. Agenda
• Equal Employment Opportunity
• Bullying and Harassment
• Relevant laws
• Sexual harassment
• Steps for prevention
• Complaint handling
• Q+A
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4. What is
Equal Employment Opportunity
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Everyone has the right to work in a discrimination,
harassment and bullying free workplace
Equality/Merit
Respectful
Treatment
Employees judged on
merit – ability to do their
job, not on irrelevant
characteristics
No unwelcome,
inappropriate attention or
abuse

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Bullying and Sexual Harassment

6. Bullying: relevant laws
• Work Health and
Safety
• Fair Work Act
• Workers
Compensation
• Contract
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7. Bullying
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•An individual or
a group of
individuals
A worker or a
group of workers
Repeatedly
behaves
unreasonably
towards
That behaviour creates a risk to health and
safety
A worker or workers may make a complaint in the following
circumstances:

8. Anti-bullying laws
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Its important to note that:
• The term ‘worker’ is used because this means
the protection extends to all persons
performing work in the workplace, not just a
company’s employees.
• Unreasonable behaviour is sometimes hard to
judge when you are the one engaging in the
behaviour.

9. Bullying – what is it?
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Psychological bullying can be:
• Verbal abuse: name calling,
teasing, taunts
• Practical jokes
• Exclusion/isolation
• Intimidation
• Allocation of tasks above/below
ability
• Unreasonable criticism
• Impossible deadlines
• Deliberately changing work
rosters to cause difficulty
• Withholding information
required to perform a task
Physical bullying can be:
• Physical contact-pushing,
shoving,
grabbing etc
• Initiation rites
Intention:
Intentions are not always going to
be relevant, so whether there is
intent for the behaviour to have a
bullying effect or not, this will not
assist in defending bullying
allegations if the behaviour is:
• Unreasonable; and
• considered to give rise to a
risk to health and safety

10. Bullying is NOT
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• Reasonable management of
performance
• Counselling and discipline
• Reasonable supervision
• Poor management
• A single incident

11. 1 1©2017 Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors. All Rights Reserved
Bullying
Reasonable management action conducted in a
reasonable manner is not bullying.
• Denying a benefit
• Performance appraisals
• Investigating misconduct allegations
• Performance improvement meetings
• Counselling or disciplinary action for misconduct
• Modifying duties, including transfer or re-
deployment
• Refusing permission to return to work due to
medical condition

12. Sexual Harassment
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13. What is sexual harassment?
• Unwelcome
• Conduct of sexual nature
• ‘Reasonable person’ would
have anticipated the
possibility that conduct
would offend, humiliate or
intimidate the other person
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14. Some examples
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• Physical contact – touching, hugging, kissing
• Staring or leering
• Suggestive comments or jokes
• Persistent invitations for a date
• Sexually explicit posters, pin-ups,
• Screensavers, sms messages, emails etc

15. more examples
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• Declarations of love
• Gender based jokes, insults or
taunts
• Inferences of sexual morality
• Sexually explicit conversations
• Intrusive questions about private
life or sexual orientation
• Criminal conduct –
physical/sexual assault, indecent
exposure, stalking

16. When conflict occurs
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17. Steps
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1. Consider whether you can resolve the concern
directly with the person concerned
2. If this is unsuccessful or you do not feel
comfortable with this approach, speak to your
Manager or HR
When you do…..
It makes me feel
uncomfortable
Please stop

18. Formal vs. Informal complaint
resolution
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Management or HR may seek to resolve complaints
either:
Informally (ie. by way of discussions with
relevant employees/mediation/etc
Formally (ie. by way of an internal or external
investigation)

19. Complaint handling for
supervisors and managers
• Active listening
• Don’t prejudge
• Take the matter seriously
• Confidentiality
• Explain the process/timeline
• Ask the employee what they are seeking
• Offer to talk through the direct approach
• Decide whether imminent threat to safety
• Contact HR
• Keep records 1 9©2017 Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors. All Rights Reserved

21. Contact us
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NEWCASTLE
Suite 402, Level 4
Watt St Commercial Centre
Newcastle NSW 2300
Phone : 02 9458 7005
www.ablawyers.com.au
BRISBANE
10 Felix St
Brisbane QLD 4000
Phone : 02 9458 7005
www.ablawyers.com.au
SYDNEY
10/140 Arthur St,
North Sydney
NSW 2060
Phone : 02 9458 7005
www.ablawyers.com.au
Joe Murphy
Director
Joe.murphy@ablawyers.com.au
Michal Roucek
Senior Associate
Michal.roucek@ablawyers.com.au