Regularly questioning an employee about why he wasn't completing his assigned tasks amounted to bullying and harassment, and caused his psychological injury, a commission has ruled.
An employee has won compensation for a psychological injury he suffered after a colleague, with whom he'd been embroiled in conflict for years, was promoted and threatened to "go after" him.
An employer has defended sacking an absent employee after an independent medical assessment found "malignant resentment" prevented her from ever being fit to return.
"Ongoing" performance monitoring, along with a team leader's management style and a heavy workload, caused an employee's psychological injury, a commission has ruled in rejecting an employer's 'reasonable action' defence.
A regulator has found two employers failed in their duty to minimise or eliminate workplace psychosocial risks, after one introduced a new performance management system without proper consultation, and the other placed excessive and ongoing work demands on its staff.
In an important ruling analysing vicarious liability, the High Court has upheld an employer's appeal against a $432k damages award for an employee who suffered a psychological injury due to his co-worker's drunken misbehaviour.
An employee who was threatened and assaulted by another worker has been awarded compensation for a psychological injury, after a commission found the employer's investigation into the incident was unreasonable.
Managers are now noticeably more reluctant to take action that might pose a psychosocial hazard, but holding back can create a "much worse" problem, a workplace lawyer warns.
An employer has been ordered to resume an employee's workers' compensation payments, after a commission found that requiring her to return to work with a bully colleague aggravated her psychological injury.
Employers' psychosocial risk obligations represent a "new dawn" for HR, where this area can no longer be viewed as a workplace health and safety issue. Watch this webcast to understand how psychosocial risks intersect with almost every aspect of employment law and people management.
Managing absent or incapacitated employees is always tough to get right, and myriad case law highlights the consequences of mishandling this area. Attend this HR Daily webinar for an up-to-date review of relevant legislation and rulings in this space.