HR departments too often fail to take a risk-management approach to decisions affecting people, exposing themselves to potential liability under the model work health and safety laws, according to safety and employment lawyer Fiona Austin.
More than half of the population will experience a mental illness at some stage in their lives, and most will choose to conceal it, so employers need to beware of performance-managing workers who are unwell, says Swinburne University of Technology's Doctor Mirella Romanella.
A High Court ruling that a worker's sex-related injury did not occur "in the course of employment" is good news for employers, but not great comfort in the lead-up to the silly season, according to employment lawyers.
Most employees assume stress is a bad thing, but if they view it as their body helping them to prepare for a challenge, it can actually be "really beneficial", says Sentis positive psychologist Olivia Wallis.
A health initiative that won over workers with the slogan, "How to lose weight and drink beer", and brought management on board with stats that created "a sense of urgency", has helped a blue-collar workforce to reduce its absenteeism, presenteeism, and injury rates.
Traumatic experiences such as workplace bullying not only affect the employees who are directly involved, but also those who support them, and "vicarious trauma" can have a serious impact on a worker's health and productivity, according to employment lawyer Josh Bornstein.
Confusion about how long an organisation should retain a sick or injured employee who's unable to work could be stopping many employers from lawfully terminating absent staff, according to lawyers from Hicksons' workplace relations group.
Benefits such as flexi-time and time off in lieu are now so prevalent that they're no longer considered a significant competitive advantage - but this doesn't mean they're unimportant, says Mercer Pacific talent business leader Garry Adams.
HR professionals should "spread the net far and wide" in building a case for absence management, identifying where risks lie and what their costs are before putting forward a plan, according to HR expert and author, Graham Smith.
General protections claims are the fastest-growing category of applications in the Fair Work Commission, with reforms now underway to stem the tide. This webinar will discuss important developments in both procedural issues and case law.
