Substandard employment environments have to be referred to the safety watchdog.
Employers were recently warned they must report sexual harassment, sexual assault, psychological abuse, physical harm and other “extreme” behaviour to authorities.
“Under the Work Health and Safety legislation any incident resulting in a notifiable injury or illness, including those stemming from psychosocial or physical harm, sexual harassment or assault, must be reported to the regulator,” the New South Wales Resources Regulator said in a public statement.
“Whether a single event or repeated occurrence, psychosocial hazards are defined as any threatening, violent, forced, coercive or exploitative behaviour or act where the victim has not consented or was unable to give consent.”
Chief inspector Anthony Margetts stressed mineral producers should do the right thing to “eliminate” issues that can impact on worker mental or physical health.
“We aim to create safer, more respectful workplaces for everyone by fostering a culture of reporting and accountability,” he said.
“Psychosocial hazards extend beyond bullying and harassment they may cause a response resulting in psychological or physical harm caused by workplace environments, workload, work tasks, equipment provided or working relationships.”
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