Employers must be more vigilant than ever in developing and reinforcing anti-bullying policies in light of a significant spike in workplace bullying and harassment claims - many of them false, says Harmers Workplace Lawyers managing partner, Joydeep Hor.
There are now 111 organisations recognised as employers of choice for women by the Federal Government's Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA).
Employers that gather and accurately interpret workforce data before resorting to massive job cuts can avert unnecessary workplace upheaval and save big bucks in future recruitment costs, according to Qantas workforce analytics manager, Nathan Carbone.
Any company that attempts short-term "stopgap" measures to reduce labour costs only to be forced to make large-scale public layoffs later "has to be classified as a workforce planning failure", says HR expert Dr John Sullivan.
Employers compelled to make employees redundant because of the economic downturn are still entitled to enforce restraint clauses, says Minter Ellison Lawyers partner, Gareth Jolly.
Employers can minimise the development and aggravation of workplace mental illness and dramatically reduce their exposure to litigation by putting in place an employee assistance program and developing a clear anti-bullying policy, according to workplace lawyer Greg Robertson.
Helping an employee with depression to stay at work and remain productive benefits both the individual and the employer, according to Gabrielle Lis from Return to Work Matters.
As economic conditions worsen, employers that cut back on supervision and communication face a growing risk of employee fraud, warns workplace relations lawyer Chris Molnar.
Employers that refrain from indiscriminately slashing staff numbers and adhere to the 10 "DOs and DON'Ts" of the redundancy process will be "poised to enjoy a competitive advantage" as the economy rebounds, according to the authors of a white paper from the Human Capital Institute and Taleo.
HR must make the shift from transactional to transformational - driving change within a business instead of just aligning with it - if it wants "a seat at the table", says the head of global HR consulting at Kelly Services.
