For an absence from work to count as an "authorised recess", there must be an expectation by the employer that the worker will return to work, a court has found in a case involving a worker who was injured driving to his doctor.
Employers should consider including, in their first-aid kits, asthma-relieving inhalers and spacers and epinephrine auto-injectors (EpiPens) for the treatment of anaphylaxis, according to a draft Compliance Code mirroring national WHS amendments.
A large employer allowed a conflict between a worker and his manager to persist for so long that the mental health of both workers deteriorated, the Fair Work Commission has found.
> Directors' WHS breaches injured boy on amusement device; > Mobile phone distraction fines increase by 150% next week; and > Worker killed by inadvertent crane operation.
A worker's diagnosis of "soft tissue injury" from a vehicle incident is too broad for his employer to be liable for two subsequent conditions, an appeals court has ruled.
Residual current devices (RCDs) should be installed in all workplaces, regardless of the construction date, while defibrillators need to be more widely available, particularly at remote sites, an inquest into an electrocution has found.
A team of sleep disorder experts has identified a simple strategy for sleeping between night shifts that can reduce the risk of fatigue and safety incidents at work.
A judge has confirmed that an injury sustained by a worker, when she briefly ceased performing her duties to participate in a recreational activity, didn't arise from her employment, but stressed it was unnecessary and probably incorrect to apply the High Court "interval" test to the five-second activity.
A worker's repeated failure to perform "Take 2" risk assessments to review his surroundings for safety hazards justified his dismissal, a commission has found.
A management company accused of breaching work safety laws, in failing to instruct retail staff not to walk near mobile plant, has spent $130,000 overhauling its loading dock policies and committed nearly $200,000 to other rectifications under an enforceable undertaking.
