The Fair Work Commission has ordered an employer to pay workers who refused to work after colleagues tested positive to COVID-19, but said they should have returned to work after the NSW Chief Medical Officer became involved and gave them the all clear.
> Work safety incidents attract second round of fines; > WHS changes creating new PCBU duties for quad bikes in Tas; and > NSW workers invited to challenge past injury payments.
A public prosecutor's $435,000 damages award, for post-traumatic stress disorder resulting from exposure to "abhorrent" crimes, has been quashed in an appeals court ruling on causation.
The Federal Government has responded to a string of work fatalities and union pressure by listing gig economy arrangements as a priority issue for Australia's WHS ministers, while the NSW Government has established a taskforce to investigate the deaths and consider options for regulatory reform.
Workplace health and safety and health promotion systems should be integrated, given workers with unhealthy behaviours and chronic conditions are at increased risk of injury, prolonged recovery and low productivity, Canadian researchers say.
In an important judgment on the interaction of WHS and industrial laws, a full Federal Court has confirmed union officials cannot bypass right-of-entry requirements by attending a worksite under provisions for resolving work health and safety matters.
Highlighting the flaws in an expert report on job rotation, obtained by an injured worker, has helped two employers successfully challenge a ruling that they breached their duty of care to the worker by requiring her to perform repetitive tasks.
The COVID-19 pandemic and remote working arrangements are exacerbating the significant health and safety risks posed by sickness presenteeism, but they also provide an opportunity to establish cultural norms that encourage workers to take sick leave when they have infectious diseases or other illnesses, organisational psychologists say.
An employer acted reasonably in enforcing its safety requirements by refusing to support a worker's application for an extraordinary driver's licence after he lost his licence for drink driving, a commission has found in upholding his dismissal.
