Student safety in the workplace
Aim
The aim of this unit is to provide students with an overview of the NSW Acts and legislation that protect workers’ health, safety and welfare including the Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2002, the Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2003 and anti-discrimination legislation.
Outcomes
On completion of this unit of work, students will be able to:
o understand workers’ rights and responsibilities under the Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2002 and the Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2003
o understand and explain the role of anti-discrimination legislation
o understand and explain the different forms of discrimination in the workplace
o understand the procedures to follow in case of an accident or injury during work experience or work placement
o understand and explain the procedures that can be used to handle workplace problems
Unit Outline
Topic / Content / Related ActivitiesAccidents and injuries / o Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2002
o Student accidents in the workplace / o Student activity 2
o Student activity 4
Discrimination in the workplace / o Anti-Discrimination Legislation
o State and Commonwealth Laws
o Direct and in-direct discrimination
Types of discrimination / o Racial, sexual, disability discrimination
o Violence
o Harassment
o Bullying / o Student activity 1
Handling workplace problems / o Procedures used to handle workplace problems
Confidentiality in the workplace / o Confidentiality
o Copyright / o Student activity 3
Stress / o Stress at work / o Student activity 5
Student safety in the workplace
Under the OHS Act 2000, every employer has a responsibility to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all their employees. This responsibility extends to school students undertaking workplace learning programs.
It is important that students alert their workplace supervisor and supervising teacher if they have any concerns about any aspect of their personal safety during workplace learning programs.
Key areas that students should be aware of are:
o Accidents and injury
o Discrimination in the workplace
o Violence in the workplace
o Harassment
o Bullying
Accidents and injuries
Workers compensation
Workers Compensation laws apply to all workers in NSW. A worker is defined as someone who receives wages or commission, regardless of the number of hours worked each week, and includes workers who work away from the employer’s premises.
When there is an injury at work, the employer must provide the injured worker with first aid and/or transport to medical treatment.
Workers compensation is paid for any injury or disease that is work related provided the employee can prove that the injury arose during the course of employment. The course of employment extends to include lunch breaks and travelling to and from a place of work.
The law requires every employer in New South Wales to take out an insurance policy with a licensed insurer to cover the employer’s full liability for workers compensation. An employer commits an offence if they do not take out insurance.
This insurance covers their workers in the event the worker suffers an injury or work related illness. These policies ensure that injured or ill workers receive financial compensation for lost wages, medical expenses and permanent incapacity.
If a person or business employs or hires workers on a regular, casual or contract basis, they are considered to be an employer and must have a workers compensation insurance policy.
The contract may be expressed or implied, verbal or written, and it may be a contract of service or apprenticeship.
The Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2002 and Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2003, passed by the NSW Parliament in December 2002 and July 2003 respectively contains the legal rights and responsibilities of employers and employees in NSW.
Under the Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2002 and Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2003:
o workers are entitled to compensation for injuries sustained in the course of employment
o compensation is extended to any injuries occurring while travelling to and from work and during lunch breaks
o work related diseases contracted by an employee is covered by compensation
o the employee must prove the injury arose during the course of employment
o compensation is paid to family members in the case of death
o compensation will not be granted if the worker is involved in wilful misconduct unless death, serious injury or permanent disability occurs
o the employee must make all effort to return to work as soon as possible
o the employee must participate and cooperate with the development and implementation of an injury management plan
o the employer must implement and monitor a return-to-work plan for the injured worker
o the employer must participate with the insurer to develop an injury management plan for the injured worker
In NSW, licensed insurers issue and administer workers compensation insurance policies on behalf of WorkCover NSW. WorkCover’s function is to administer the Acts of Parliament including the Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2002 and the Workers Compensation Legislation Amendment Act 2003:
Student accidents in the workplace
If a student is injured in the workplace the host employer must:
o Seek medical help immediately
o Contact the school emergency contact
o Ask the doctor attending for a medical certificate
o Complete a written report of the accident and forward it to the school.
Where a student is injured during a placement, including travel to and from the place of work:
o The student receives the necessary medical attention
Note: As students are volunteers, not employees, such claims should not be classified as Workers’ Compensation
o The parent or caregiver claims upon his or her Medicare and private health funds
o The parent or caregiver then forwards to the school advice of the amounts not recovered from the health funds, together with supporting documents including accounts showing amounts paid by the health funds
o The school then forwards the documents to the Department of Education and Training, Treasury Managed Fund Section, which will deal with any claim on the GIO Managed Fund for those amounts not covered by a health fund or Medicare.
For further information refer to the Workplace Learning Handbook.
Discrimination in the workplace
Anti-discrimination legislation
The major legislation that covers discrimination in the workplace in NSW is the Anti-Discrimination Act 1977.
Discrimination in the workplace occurs when a person feels that they have been unfairly treated. The Anti-Discrimination Act 1977 prohibits discrimination on the following eight grounds:
o Carer’s responsibilities
o Sex (including pregnancy)
o Race, colour, ethnic or religious background, descent or nationality
o Marital status
o Disability (including past, present or future physical, intellectual or psychiatric disability, learning disorders or any other organism capable of causing disease eg HIV)
o Homosexuality
o Age
o Transgender (that is, anyone who lives, has lived or wants to live as a member of the opposite gender to their birth).
Discrimination is against the law and usually falls into one of the following two categories:
1. Direct discrimination
Direct discrimination is treatment that is obviously unfair or unequal. If an employer won’t hire someone just because they are a woman, this is likely to be direct discrimination.
2. Indirect discrimination
Indirect discrimination means that a requirement (or rule) that is the same for everyone has an effect or result that is unequal and ‘unreasonable in the circumstances’. For example an employer who says that they need a person over 180cm tall to do a job is likely to end up discriminating against women and ethnic groups. This is because women and some ethnic groups are less likely to be this height than men or people from other ethnic groups. If it is possible to show that the job does not need someone 180cm tall, or that it could easily be adapted to suit people who aren’t that height, then a person could claim indirect sex discrimination or indirect race discrimination.
There are a number of other laws, both at State and Commonwealth levels that also relate to discrimination in the workplace. These are listed below.
NSW
o Disability Services Act 1993
o Privacy and Personal Information Act 1998
o Industrial Relations Act 1996
Commonwealth
o Affirmative Action Act 1992
o Disability Discrimination Act 1992
o Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1986
o Privacy Act 1988
o Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission Act 1986
o Human Rights (Sexual Conduct) Act 1994
o Racial Discrimination Act 1975
o Equal Employment Opportunity (Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987
o Racial Hatred Act 1995
o Sexual Discrimination Act 1984
o Workplace Relations Act 1996
Legal responsibilities
‘Every employer and employee has a contract of employment between them, even it is not written down’ (Source: A Secure Workplace for Young Australians, a project between WorkCover NSW and National Children’s and Youth Law Centre)
What are the responsibilities of the employer?
Under legislation an employer must not harass any individual or any of their employees and they must ensure that there is no harassment in their workplace.
Under contract law once an employer becomes aware of workplace violence they must take action to prevent the violence. ‘If an employer breaches that contractual duty by failing to prevent workplace violence, the employee can sue the employer for breach of contract and potentially obtain damages from the employer for breach of contract’. In addition, an employee who is forced to resign due to workplace violence may bring a claim against an employer for unfair or unlawful dismissal and seek reinstatement and/or compensation. (Source: A Secure Workplace for Young Australians: a project between WorkCover NSW and National Children’s and Youth Law Centre)
What are the responsibilities of the employee?
‘An employee must, while at work, take reasonable care for the health and safety of people who are at the employee’s place of work and who may be affected by the employee’s acts or omissions at work.’ (Source: Occupational Health and Safety Act 2000)
Every employee has a responsibility to prevent workplace harassment and violence. As an employee you must ensure your behaviour meets acceptable standards. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission in its campaign against discrimination, recommends that people speak out against harassment and discrimination when they witness such behaviour. Quick response to harassment by witnesses is essential to ensure that victims are not isolated and harassers are not left with an impression that their behaviour will be approved or accepted by others in the workplace.
(Source: Achieving a Harassment Free Workplace, Public Service and Merit Protection Commission 1998)
Violence in the workplace
Workplace violence occurs when a person subjects another in the workplace to degrading behaviour ranging from verbal abuse or threats to actual physical violence.
Workplace violence can be defined as “any incident in which employees or others at the place of work are threatened, abused or assaulted. It is unpredictable, hostile, unjust or unwarranted use of force and power against an individual or property by another individual or group”.
(Source: Managing Violence in the Workplace, May 2001)
Workplace violence includes:
o Assaults - any touching of a person without their consent is an assault, whether it is a joke or not, and whether or not it hurt.
o Threatened assaults and apprehension - constant exposure to loud voices, arguments, accusations and threats directed at other people, or hinted at general reprisals.
o Bullying - any constant criticism, nit-picking, trivial fault finding, being singled out or treated differently, isolated or excluded from what is happening, taunted, teased, belittled, degraded, demeaned, ridiculed, patronised, threatened, humiliated, overloaded with work, denied information or support, set unrealistic goals or deadlines, subject to excessive supervision or snooping, denied sick leave or annual leave, receive unpleasant calls, memos, notes or e-mails while at work or home, denied representation at meetings, encouraged to feel guilty or believe they are always at fault
Some forms of violent behaviour may be defined as ‘assault’ under criminal legislation.
Facts about workplace violence:
1) It is more common than people think
2) It occurs across a broad range of industries and workplaces
3) Both males and females are victims and perpetrators of workplace violence
4) It is very costly for both victims and employers
5) It is about the unacceptable misuse and abuse of power
6) It can develop from simple poor management or from malicious intent or aggressiveness.
(Source: A Secure Workplace for Young Australians-a project of WorkCover NSW and the National Children’s and Youth Law Centre)
Examples of Workplace Violence
In 1995, a 17 year old apprentice panel beater in Melbourne was locked in his toilet cubicle as paint-stripping solvent was poured under the door and set alight by his 25 year old supervisor. He suffered critical burns to 50% of his body and was hospitalised for eight weeks. For almost two years after the incident, he was forced to wear a burns body suit. He suffered from depression and will probably never work again. His supervisor was fined $2,000, and the company that employed him, $5,000.
( Source: Neals, ‘When rites go wrong’, September 6 1997 Good Weekend, p32)
In 1997, a 20 year old female apprentice diesel fitter mechanic was subjected to workplace violence simply because she was the first female apprentice at the mine. She was bullied, called unpleasant names, subjected to propositions and generally pushed around. She was subsequently awarded $48,000 in damages.
( Source: Neals, ‘When rites go wrong”, September 6 1997 Good Weekend, p32)
In August last year, a 27 year old pizza store manager was found guilty of four counts of criminal assault against a 19 year old delivery boy. The manager had tied the boy’s feet with rope, placed him on the bonnet of a car and driven backwards and forwards with the boy sprawled across the front. He had also sprayed the boy with a fire extinguisher whilst he was in a toilet cubicle, jammed his leg in the door, and cut the boys face with his watch. The store manager was fined $650 and placed on a 12 month, $500 good behaviour bond.
(Source: “But boss guilty of attacking pizza boy” August 14 1998. Daily Telegraph, p9)