| Common Law and/or Employment Acts |
Behaviour that is workplace bullying pursuant to the Occupational,
Health, Safety and Welfare Act 1986 may also be in breach of
an employee’s
contract of employment at common law and/or an Act of Parliament
under which the employee is employed.This may render the employee
responsible
for the bullying behaviour liable to disciplinary action. |
Commonwealth Legislation
Racial
Discrimination Act 1975
Sex Discrimination
Act 1984
Disability Discrimination Act 1992
Human
Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986
Trade Practices Act 1974
Age Discrimination
Act 2004
|
Commonwealth discrimination laws protect people from discrimination
in the workplace and in public life. Complaints are assessed in order
to determine whether they should be investigated under Commonwealth
law or referred to the State law. |
| Criminal Law |
When workplace bullying involves behaviour that, on its face, is
in breach of criminal laws, the incident becomes a police matter
and may be dealt with in the criminal jurisdiction. |
| Duty of Care |
An employer has a duty of care at common law to reasonably protect
employees from behaviours that amount to bullying under the Occupational
Health,Safety and Welfare Act 1986. |
| Fair Work Act 1994 |
There is no specific provision in the Fair Work Act 1994 that
deals with workplace bullying. However,where an employee is dismissed
or
forced to resign as a result of workplace bullying, the employee
maybe entitled to make a claim under the unfair dismissal provisions
of
that Act. Where it can be demonstrated that an industrial dispute
exists between and employer and employee and all the necessary requirements
of the Act have been met, a notice of industrial dispute can be lodged
with the Industrial Relations Commission of South Australia to seek
its assistance to resolve the Dispute. |
| Industrial Instruments |
Industrial instruments, such as enterprise agreements and awards,
usually contain grievance procedures that can be used to assist in
resolving disputes involving bullying. |
| Occupational
Health, Safety & Welfare Act 1986 |
Section 19 of the Act requires that all employers provide a safe
working environment and this applies to all areas including the employee’s
mental health and well being. Section 21 (1a) of the Act requires
that an employee must take reasonable care to avoid adversely affecting
the health or safety of any other person through an act or omission
at work. Section 55A of the Amended Act includes a definition of
Workplace Bullying and details the methodology involved for the investigation,
mediation and conciliation of involved parties. |
| South Australian Equal Opportunity Act 1984 |
Where bullying in the workplace involves acts of discrimination,
a complaint may be lodged with the Commissioner for Equal Opportunity.
Discrimination includes unfair treatment based on a person's disability,
race, sex, age, sexuality, pregnancy and marital status. Equal opportunity
laws also protect employees against sexual harassment. It is also
unlawful for anyone to victimise a person because they have made,
or intend to make, a discrimination complaint. |
| Workers Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 1986 |
An employee may make a claim for compensation regarding any compensable
injury if it arises out of, or in the course of their employment.
Though the Act does not mention bullying specifically, psychiatric
disabilities caused by bullying at work, are compensable if, and
only if, the employment was a substantial cause of the disability.
Refer to section 30A of the Workers Rehabilitation and Compensation
Act 1986. |
