The recent amendments to the Commonwealth Fair Work Act which are intended to address the issue of Workplace bullying have been passed and have been given a date to commence of the 1 January 2014, rather than the 1 July 2013 as had been originally intended.
The new provisions in the Fair Work
Act enable employees who allege that they have been the subject of bullying in the workplace to make an application to the Fair Work Commission. The Fair Work Commission is then obliged to commence the process of addressing the allegation within 14 days, although exactly how the Fair Work Commission will do that has yet to be confirmed.
If the allegation of bullying behaviour in the Workplace is accepted by the Fair Work Commission
it can make any orders that the Fair Work Commission believes are appropriate, but it is not authorised at that point to impose a financial penalty. However, any subsequent breach of any orders made by the Fair Work Commission can lead to significant financial penalties for both employers and individuals. This reinforces the need for employers to ensure that they have adequate policies and procedures in place, which are adhered to and implemented, to ensure that they do not fall foul of these new provisions.
Experienced Solicitors Brisbane | Brisbane Lawyers | Gold Coast
Article Source: Fair Work Act