Employees don't have to be the instigator or actively
involved in a workplace 'prank' in order to face personal
penalties for breach of work health and safety (WHS)
obligations.
In the recent case of Inspector Estreich v Zaccardeli and
Others1 the NSW Industrial Relations Commission
found a number of employees guilty of offences under the
Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000 (NSW) following a
workplace 'prank' which resulted in an employee suffering
injuries. The prosecuted employees included individuals who did not
take part in the prank but who also did nothing to intervene.
The victim of the prank, Mr Catanzaro, was due to be married the
following day. Mr Zaccardelli was the most senior employee on site
and the instigator of the incident. During the 'prank', Mr
Zaccardelli hit Mr Catanzaro in the groin, tied him to a piece of
steel mesh by his hands and legs, threw eggs at him, cut his
clothes off, poured fuel in a semi circle in front of Mr Catanzaro
and
