Bonuses and Pay Rises Can Be Withheld from Employees and Managers Employers will be able to withhold bonuses and pay rises from managers and employees in order to prevent sexual harassment and discrimination in the workplace. From December, employers have a positive duty to prevent sexual assault, harassment and similar discriminatory behaviour. The legislation shifts […]
WA Statistics Related to Sexual Harassment Complaints In the 2022-23 reporting year the Commission received 31 complaints of sexual harassment in employment, 24 of those were from women. In the complaints received, women told of constant sexualised comments, supervisors trying to kiss them at work functions and receiving a sexualised Secret Santa gift from a[…..]
Woodside Dismisses Twelve Workers for Misconduct On Monday, Woodside Energy released its 2022 annual report, which provides the results of completed investigations into workplace misconduct. The report reveals that 36 investigations were conducted, resulting in the termination of six employees and six contractors. Further, of these investigations, seven cases were related to sexual harassment and[…..]
Virgin Airlines Overturns Unfair Dismissal Decision by the Fair Work Commission Virgin Australia has successfully overturned a decision made by the Fair Work Commission last year in relation to an unfair dismissal case of a former employee. The Full Bench of the Fair Work Commission found that the previous decision dismissing DeVania Blackburn did not[…..]
Important Inquiry Shines a Light On Transgender And Gay Hate Crimes The recent mass shooting in Colorado that targeted LGBT+ individuals has aligned with the first week of public hearings for an inquiry into historical hate crimes against the LGBTQI+ community in NSW. The inquiry will examine hate crimes from 1970 to 2010. It is[…..]
‘Tired Of Empty Promises’: Powerful Women Join Forces For Change On Sunday 6 March, a dozen Australian, female leaders were featured in a letter and video addressed to the Australian public. Among the leaders were Grace Tame and Brittany Higgins. The message was that it is time to end injustice and inequality. This is paired[…..]
‘Rude And Disruptive’ Employee Loses Bullying Claim An employee’s recent application for unfair dismissal based on bullying allegations was dismissed on the basis that his manager’s behaviour constituted reasonable management action. The employee was an account manager tasked to manage business customers. He was subject to performance indicators, including a target number of calls to[…..]
MP Hails Action on Assaults Deputy Liberal leader, Libby Mettam, has spoken out on the sexual harassment within the mining sector. She said she is happy that Bill Johnston, Mines Minister, has instructed his department to “do their job”. This comes after his office attempted to minimise rape allegations. Secret emails sent from Mr Johnston’s[…..]
Review Finds 1 In 3 Staff in Federal Parliament Experience Sexual Harassment Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Kate Jenkins, conducted a review into sexual harassment in federal parliament. The findings show that one in three employees have experienced a form of sexual harassment. The review began in response to rape allegations made by Brittany Higgins. Ms Higgins[…..]
WA Labor to Introduce New Legislation to Address Workplace Bullying and Sexual Harassment On 20 October 2021, the McGowan Government announced it was introducing the Industrial Relations Legislation Amendment Bill 2021 to improve employment protections. Among the changes is a new framework to address bullying and sexual harassment. The Bill will allow the WA Industrial[…..]