Bullying is a serious risk to the health and safety of workers. Under the relevant health and safety legislation (the "Legislation") and associated regulations and codes of practice, the primary duty to eliminate or minimise, as far as reasonably practicable, the risks to health and safety (including psychological health) in the workplace is imposed on a person conducting a business or undertaking ("PCBU"). For the purposes of the Legislation, an employer is a PCBU and therefore bears the primary responsibility.
This policy has been developed to assist employers in meeting their legal obligations under the Legislation, associated regulations and codes of practice and thereby to eliminate or minimise bullying in the workplace. It is intended to replace any existing policies in relation to bullying which currently apply in your workplace.
The policy provides that bullying will not be tolerated and presents mechanisms for disciplining those who engage in such behavior in the workplace. In addition, the policy provides formal and informal mechanisms for dealing with any complaint relating to bullying.
All workers should be made aware of the policy, the standards that are expected of them and the consequences for breaching the policy.The policy can be effectively communicated in a number of ways, such as:
- conducting face to face training sessions – this is generally the most effective way to communicate the policy to staff and to train staff to recognise and deal with bullying;
- team meetings;
- including the policy in induction manuals and procedure manuals;
- including the policy on the company’s intranet, on notice-boards, or in newsletters;
- sending email messages;
- including the policy as an attachment to payslips;
Training sessions about the policy should (as a minimum) take place as part of the induction of new workers and in specific training sessions for existing workers. However, your workers should be reminded of the policy on a regular basis. This may involve conducting regular ‘refresher’ sessions at which workers are taken through the policy, sending out emails in relation to the policy and where it can be accessed, or using one of the other methods set out above.
Please note that the Legislation requires that as a PCBU, an employer must, as far as reasonably practicable, consult with its employees or others carrying out work, before making decisions on health and safety matters, including bullying. If there are health and safety representatives then they must be involved in the consultation process. Consultation must be carried out when developing policies and procedures relating to bullying, including complaint procedure. Consultation involves sharing information with workers and health and safety representatives, allowing then to express views and taking those views into account.
There is further guidance on the prevention of bullying in the workplace in Safe Work Australia Code of Practice - Preventing and Responding to Workplace Bullying [with effect from 1 January 2012 in some States and shortly thereafter in the remaining States and Territories]. This code is generally applicable to all types of work and all workplaces covered by the Legislation, including workplaces that are mobile, temporary and remote. It can be used by managers, supervisors, workers (including volunteers and contractors), health and safety representatives and other persons at the workplace to assist with managing the risks associated with bullying in the workplace.
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Further information
Further information on how to use this policy can be found at the 'How to use these policies' link on the Policies page of the HR Advance website.
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