Employment Law in Victoria If you work in Australia, the key employment standards concerning work hours, the minimum wage, leave, and other conditions are outlined in the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (‘the Fair Work Act’), a federal law that covers many Australia workplaces. However, workers compensation and work health and safety are usually addressed by state legislation. If you are an employee in Victoria, these state-level laws set out your rights relating to discrimination, bullying, injury, compensation, and health and safety at work. Work Health and Safety Laws in Victoria Victoria has its own health and safety laws and to date has not adopted the national framework. These laws apply to most non-Commonwealth workplaces. Your work health …show more content…
Workers have a duty to carry out their work in a way that does not harm their own health or safety or that of others. As an employee, you have a duty to notify your employer of any work-related illness or injury within 30 days of you becoming aware of it. If you are an employer, it’s important you understand your work health and safety duties. These legal obligations include maintaining a safe workplace and ensuring the safe handling of potentially dangerous items. As an employer, you are required to support workers by giving staff sufficient information, training, and supervision to facilitate healthy and safety working conditions. In addition, you need to consult employees on health and safety issues. Under Section 21 of the OHSA, you could be fined up to around $265,000 (individuals) or $1,328,000 (body corporates) for a …show more content…
Victorian law requires employers with more than $7,500 in yearly payroll to maintain WorkSafe insurance for their workers. You are required to do so even if you have only one employee, who may be an apprentice or trainee. The main law for workers compensation in Victoria is the Workplace Injury Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 2013 (Vic). This law covers the claims process, eligibility for compensation, return to work rights, and other workers compensation issues. The law also sets out the process for using the Accident Compensation and Conciliation Service, which is a service you can use to resolve a dispute you have with your employer or employee. Commonwealth employees are covered by a different law for workers compensation. Victorian Bullying Laws Most Victorian employees are protected against bullying in the workplace by the Fair Work Act, but in the state legislation offers additional protection against bullying in any context. Victoria criminalised bullying in 2011. Section 21A of the Crimes Act 1958 (Vic) outlines what can be considered bullying and makes the crime punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment. Making threats, speaking in an abusive manner, or acting in an offensive or abusive manner are some of the things that could be considered bullying under the state law. The Victorian law also includes provisions for internet-based bully or stalking. Discrimination and Equal
Employers have duties under health and safety law to assess risks in the workplace. Risk assessments should be carried out that address all risks that might cause harm in the workplace. Employers must give employees information about the risks in their workplace and how they are protected, also instruct and train their employees on how to deal with the risks. Employers must consult employees on health and safety issues. Consultation must be either direct or through a safety representative that is either elected by the workforce or appointed by a trade union. It is an employees duty to take reasonable care of their own health and safety. If possible avoid wearing jewellery or loose clothing if operating machinery. If the employee has long hair or wears a headscarf, make sure it's tucked out of the way (it could get caught in machinery). To take reasonable care not to put other people such as fellow employees and members of the public at risk by what they do or don't do in the course of their work. To co-operate with the employer, making sure the employee gets proper training and the employee understands and follows the company's health and safety policies. Not to interfere with or misuse anything that's been provided for their health, safety or welfare. To report any injuries, strains or illnesses they suffer as a result of doing their job (the employer may need to change the way they work). To tell their employer if something
My work setting follows the laws and standards set by the Health and Safety Act 1974:-
Accidents that could happen in my work place could be: cuts and burns, e.g. in the kitchen; Back injuries/strains/sprains from poor handling/lifting techniques; tripping over from things left around the house. Sudden illnesses that could happen are: Strokes; heart attacks; epileptic fits; asthma attacks; diabetic emergencies; seizures; severe headaches; slurred speech; chest pain; difficulty breathing; sickness and diarrhea; vomiting/passing blood.
Legislation and Guidelines for England and Wales To continue further development at Riverglade House, a small residential care home I am checking and outlining all the policies and procedures relating to health, safety and security and how they influence health and social care settings. The Health and Safety Work Act 1974 (HASAWA) is an act that secures the health, safety and welfare of people at work. This protects anyone at work from any risks to their health or safety in connection with the working environment. This act will protect employees, service users and the public from any work activities. All employers, employees, trainees, self-employed, manufactures, suppliers, designers and importers of work equipment have a duty to follow and
Employers must provide a safe working environment for all of their employees. The legislation states it is an employer’s duty "to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health, safety and welfare at work" of all their employees as well as others on their premises, including temps, casual workers, the self-employed, clients, visitors and the general public.Workers health is paramount within an organisation, employers must ensure that all workers health is not affected by the work they are doing and put in place all necessities to prevent this. The Health and Safety at Work Act sets out specific standards which can add costs to a business, however these costs are considered essential for the safety of all workers. Most of the costs come from training staff about health and safety and putting in place procedures to maintain this. This act prevents unfair unsafe working conditions which in turn reduces the likelihood of accidents or injury at work. If a worker has injured themselves at work due to something which could have been otherwise prevented by the company had the followed the guidelines of the Health and Safety at Work Act they company may be required to pay out for the injury. For those who employ five or more staff, employers must also keep and revise a written record of health and safety policy and consult
The employer has a responsibility to follow the regulation which is known as the ‘Health and Safety at Work Act 1974’. This is An Act to make further provision for securing the health, safety and
Organisations within Australia have a legal obligation to prevent bullying and harassment. The Fair Work Commission, Australia’s national workplace relations tribunal, states that “bullying at work” occurs when “a person or a group of people repeatedly behaves unreasonably towards a worker or a group of workers at work and the behaviour creates a risk to health and safety.”(Fair Work Commission 2014).The legislation in Australia, implemented from the 1st of January 2014, dictates that a worker in a constitutionally covered business who reasonably believes that he or she has been bullied at work can apply to the Fair Work Commission for an order to stop the bullying .If the Fair Work Commission finds that the worker has been bullied and there is a risk that it will continue, it can order the bullying to stop. Bullying behaviour may also be discrimination based on age, disability, sex, pregnancy, race, disability, sexual orientation, religious belief or activity or other attribute protected by the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Fair Work Commission 2014).
The Health and Safety at Work Act is probably one of the main laws to consider as this not only affects your safety but
Reporting of Injuries,Diseases and dangerous occurrences regulations of 1995 requires the reporting of work-related accidents, diseases and dangerous occurrences. The Act applies to all work related activities, but not to all work related incidents. The objective of the regulations is to enable the enforcing authorities to identify where and how risks arise and to investigate serious accidents so as to prevent them from occurring in the future and thus providing a safer work environment. The enforcing authorities can then help and advise you on preventive action to reduce injury, ill health and accidental loss,the main points of our own policy that relate to this are:
Section 2 of the HSW Act deals with employersʹ duties, and states: ʺIt shall be the duty of all employers to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health safety and welfare of all their employees whilst they are at work.ʺ
The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 covers many health and safety legislations in England and Wales. These include, RIDDOR, COSHH, First Aid, Fire Regulations etc. All of these legislations need to be understood and adhered to when planning any activities.
All people have the right to be protected from work related risks. The Health and Safety Act “set the standards that must be met to ensure the health
Specific health problems associated with the workplace have contributed to the development of Particular health issues connected with the work environment have added to the advancement of the cutting edge safety and health development. These issues incorporate lung infections in diggers, mercury harming, and lung tumor attached to asbestos. Occupational and Environmental Health Professionals have an above normal extent of all day employments. For Occupational and Environmental Health Professionals working all day, normal week by week hours are 42.3 and profit are high - in the ninth decile. Unemployment for Health Professionals is underneath normal. H&S Professionals have an expansive extent of specialists amongst individuals in the 25-34 age section, making it an energetic and dynamic workplace. The unavoidable consequence of the expanded consideration given to safety and health is that bigger organizations are utilizing safety and health professionals and all organizations big or small are relegating these obligations to existing representatives.
In the UK most employment law is considered as a civil or private law and is enforced as a result of one party suing another. The primary outcomes sought is usually that of compensation. Cases brought before the court are generally made by a former or existing employee or a failed job applicant and they use the courts system to allege that their employer has in some way caused a detriment and has done this in contravention on the law.
Employees: occupational health and safety compliance obligations, Fair work and minimum pay conditions, Superannuation obligations and job security.