Australia Lags Behind the World: Greater Discrimination in Employment for Older People
According to the 2016 report, Willing to Work, Australia lags behind the international comparisons form the OECD in terms of the employment of older people and people with a disability. The report found that more than 25% of Australians aged 50 and over had experienced workplace discrimination in the last 2 years. A further one-third of those who faced discrimination gave up looking for work. Age and Disability Discrimination Commissioner Susan Ryan noted that people with disability experienced also experienced a significant level of discrimination in employment. Ms Ryan noted: “people with disability are more likely to be unemployed than people without disability and have longer periods of unemployment.”
Leave to Appeal Refused for Bullying Decision
In the recent case of Hammon v Metricon Homes Pty Ltd [2016] FWCFB 1914, the Fair Work Commission refused Mr Hammons request to appeal the decision made by Commissioner Roe not to make anti-bullying orders. This case was mentioned in a previous blog.
The Commission did not find an error in Commissioner Roes’ previous decision. The evidence had been appropriately considered and the previous Commissioner had chosen to believe the evidence of the respondent over that of Mr Hammon where there was a difference in fact.
Lost Productivity Due to Workplace Stress and Physical Inactivity
A UK study of more than 32,538 workers across all UK industries found that on average 23.5 days of work time was lost per year due to workplace stress and lack of physical activity. Work-related stress was found to play a significant role, with 73% of employees nationally suffering from at least one kind of work-related stress.
The flow on effect from this is productivity loss, with the ONS calculating that the UK could lose out on £57 billion a year on average in lost productivity.
If you are committed to improving the quality of life for your employees while at work then I recommend the services of Blooming Minds– who provide a range of in-person and on-line training services in the Mental Health space and Julie Meek who works with individuals and teams to bring out their peak performance through diet and exercise and lifestyle programs.