Workplace bullying, harassment and discrimination can have serious consequences for employees and employers alike. As one of Australia's leading workplace and employment law firms, we provide advice and representation to help businesses prevent, manage and resolve these complex issues.
Bullying: Repeated unreasonable behaviour towards an individual or group that creates a risk to health and safety.
Harassment: Unwanted conduct (including sexual harassment) that is offensive, intimidating, or humiliating.
Discrimination: Treating someone unfavourably because of a protected attribute, such as age, gender, race, disability, or sexual orientation.
Our employment law experts can help you navigate Fair Work Act obligations, anti-discrimination legislation, and state-based work health and safety laws to ensure compliance.
Every employer should take proactive steps to reduce or eliminate inappropriate workplace behaviours:
Develop clear policies and procedures and ensure they comply with relevant laws, including the Fair Work Act 2009, state-based work health and safety laws, and anti-discrimination legislation, including the new Respect@Works Positive Duty laws.
Educate and train your employees on expected behaviours. This should include the Board, Senior Executives and Managers. Each training session should be tailored to their position, their responsibilities and if they manage other staff.
Build a positive workplace culture. By promoting a culture of respect, inclusion and zero tolerance for bullying, harassment and discrimination, your employees will know what expected behaviour is acceptable and what is not. Ensuring the leadership team lead by example and model the appropriate behaviour is critical to the success of building a positive culture.
Set up a clear and effective reporting procedure that allows employees to call out inappropriate behaviour. By establishing confidential, accessible and safe reporting channels, such as a Whistleblower Hotline, you promote your support to any bystander that upholds the acceptable behaviours and helps maintain the positive culture your business is striving for.
Conduct independent investigations and take all complaints of bullying, harassment and discrimination seriously. It is important to conduct fair, impartial and thorough investigations, ensuring compliance with procedural fairness. Knowing when to involve a third party, such as Australian Business Lawyers & Advisors, can be the difference to a case that holds up in court.
Maintain records and review regularly. By setting a clear process of review across policies, procedures and reports or disclosures of unlawful behaviour, not only will this serve you if regulators come knocking, it will also help you identify patterns of behaviour or areas of your workplace that may have a hostile work environment.
Support employees through the process. This applies to employees who have experienced, witnessed or been accused of unlawful behaviour. Whether you are engaging in a formal investigation process or not, it is important to offer support, offer workplace adjustments or mediation services.
Compliance with Australian laws helps your organisation reduce the risk of litigation, fines, penalties or reputational damage. ABLA can help you achieve this – while improving your workplace culture and enhancing employee wellbeing and retention. Our highly skilled, nationally accredited mediators can also resolve disputes between the parties involved.
With the new positive duty laws requiring all businesses, no matter their size, to take all 'reasonable and proportionate steps' to eliminate sexual harassment and other unlawful behaviour from the workplace, you can no longer afford to take a reactive approach.
Explore the range of products that you can use in your business, including our extensive training programs for all levels of your staff. If you need an audit of your policies and procedures to ensure your organisation is meeting its legal obligations, get in touch today using the Contact Us form on this page.
