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Occupational Health & Safety Resource Kit. Proudly brought to you by CEPU: NSW Telcommunications & Services Division |
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Bullying at work is a health and safety, an employment rights and a trade union issue. It causes job insecurity and adverse health effects and often arises out of an imbalance of power in the workplace, which a trade union can address. Most bullies are managers although this may not always be the case.
Although bullying and harassment at work may sometimes develop into physical violence, bullying is primarily a psychological form of violence. In the broad context Clause 9 (2)(b) of the OH&S regulation 2001 requires employers to identify Psychological Hazards. Clause 11 requires employers to eliminate risks arising from hazards. As a psychological hazard it is the employer's responsibility to eliminate bullying as part of the Risk Assessment Process.  |
Health and safety representatives have a central role in curbing bullying at work by:
The NSW Chief Industrial Magistrate has ruled that employers should not tolerate bullying and should implement an anti-bullying policy and procedures, that staff should be trained in working with such policy and procedures and that employers should establish a complaints mechanism. The effectiveness of these policies needs to be continually monitored.
Employers, in order to meet their primary 'duty of care' obligations under the Act and the Regulation, have an obligation to conduct risk assessments to ensure risks from hazards, including bullying, are appropriately managed. This includes having processes to ensure that respect and dignity exists in the workplace, as well as an antibullying policy and program. Chapter 2, Clause 9(2) (j) of the OHS Regulation 2001: places obligations on employers to identify and eliminate potentially abusive situations, violence or intimidation from their workplace, regardless of the source. WorkCover's Violence in the Workplace Guide 2002 and Managing Workplace Violence in the Finance Sector provide further information on this issue. NSW Industrial Relations Act 1996 & Federal Workplace Relations Act 1997: both prohibit harassment on the grounds of trade union activity and both include unfair dismissal procedures. NSW Anti Discrimination Act 1977: prohibits workplace harassment on the following grounds: sex, pregnancy, race, colour, nationality, ethnic or ethno religious background, marital status, disability (actual, past, future or presumed), age, transgender, sexual harassment and carer's responsibilities. |