Vicarious trauma has become a hot topic in recent years, but many employers continue to underestimate their exposure and rely on controls that don't go far enough, according to a mental health expert.
It wasn't reasonable for an employer to replace an employee's full-time colleague with two untrained casuals, who worked fewer hours and on different days, a commission has ruled in a psychological injury dispute.
Being sacked for serious misconduct after regularly complaining of workplace bullying and harassment would have made a manager feel like "a grave injustice had been perpetrated", the Federal Circuit Court has accepted in adverse action proceedings.
An employee who saw negative feedback as a "fallacious, malicious and libellous" attack on her reputation is not entitled to compensation for a psychological injury, a commission has found.
An employee's "odd and difficult" behaviours led to personality clashes with supervisors, which in turn aggravated his bipolar disorder and rendered his employer liable for workers' compensation, a commission has ruled.
Managing workplace violence and aggression as a psychosocial hazard requires considering not just the different risk profiles of particular workers, but how they respond differently to incidents, an expert says.
An angry phone call from a client made an employee feel like he was "under attack", and significantly contributed to his psychological injury, a commission has ruled.
Failing to properly consider whether an injured employee could perform modified duties has undermined an employer's defence to her psychological injury claim.
Occupational violence and aggression is now the fastest-growing mechanism of psychological injury, and it's a problem affecting an increasingly broader spectrum of workplaces, a specialist warns.
All employers should consider putting in place a workplace s-xual harassment prevention plan, even though such plans are only expressly prescribed in one jurisdiction, according to a risk management expert.
Recent events have shone a spotlight on whistleblowing, placing employers firmly on notice that their response to a protected disclosure could be subject to intense scrutiny. Watch this webcast to understand the role HR plays in this challenging space.
