ARTICLE · 14 SEPTEMBER 2022

Managing general protection claims

Rostron Carlyle Rojas

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What do you do as an employer when there is a complaint for bullying and harassment in the work place?

AustraliaEmployment and HR

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Recent damages awards for breaches of the General Protections provisions of the Fair Work Act indicate an increasing trend to award significant sums for psychological distress and conditions.

The caselaw indicates that many businesses, and even larger employers are failing to follow basic steps in dealing with workplace complaints and disputes.

What do you do as an employer when there is a complaint for bullying and harassment in the work place?

Some things you don't do are:

Ignore them
Use the complaint as a basis for "sham" performance review
Treat the complainant with disrespect
Fail to initiate a fair and transparent process
Fail to promptly and properly investigate a complaint

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