There's a concerning lack of awareness among senior leaders about recent employment law changes, and even where knowledge is higher, compliance action remains low, new research shows.
The "deafening silence" that often follows an investigation can make it seem like speaking up didn't achieve anything, so it's important to remind employees that not seeing action doesn't mean none was taken, a workplace conflict specialist says.
A "shield of positive social climate" known to protect against workplace bullying might also provide a "huge protective effect" against s-xual harassment, an academic says.
An employee who admitted to sexually harassing a junior colleague has failed to overturn his dismissal, despite a commission finding his employer's four-year delay in taking disciplinary action was unreasonable.
Employers can bolster their prevention and response strategies for workplace sexual harassment by drawing on the expertise of those who have experienced it, according to an authority in the field.
An employer's announcement that it took "positive steps" to remove an employee accused of sexual harassment from the workplace has undermined its claim that he voluntarily resigned.
Employers might expect to see the Australian Human Rights Commission exercising its new compliance powers later this year, Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody tells HR Daily.
"Naming and shaming" employers that breach the positive duty to prevent workplace s-xual harassment is an option for the AHRC, but its primary goal is collaboration, according to S-x Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody.
Online s-xual harassment can have a "chilling effect" on women, but employers are perceived as minimising its impact or viewing it as less serious than physical forms, research has found.
An application for orders to stop s-xual harassment had no reasonable prospects of success after the employee accused of sending "vile" messages resigned, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.
Workplace bullying complaints continue to pose significant challenges for employers, including where the behaviour doesn't meet the legal definition of bullying or the threshold to make a claim. Watch this HR Daily Premium webcast to understand key lessons from cases where bullying complaints interact with other claims and issues.
What constitutes "best practice" when managing neurodiversity at work is evolving all the time. Watch this HR Daily Premium webcast to learn how to embed neuroinclusive practices into HR programs and every stage of the employment lifecycle.