Page 40 - Australasian Paint & Panel magazine

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PAINT&PANEL MARCH / APRIL 2023 WWW.PAINTANDPANEL.COM.AU
PSYCHOSOCIAL HAZARDS COULD COST YOU
NEW LAWS AROUND PSYCHOSOCIAL
HAZARDS IN AUSTRALIA ARE COMING INTO EFFECT IN 2023. COLLISION REPAIR SHOP OWNERS KNOW THEIR LEGAL RESPONSIBILITIES, SAYS GARY WILCOX OF MONIT.
HESE LAWS ARE SO FAR
reaching and serious that a poor workplace health and safety culture is in itself now re- garded as a psychosocial hazard and to some degree a contributor to an incident. Therefore, if a shop cannot produce sufficient evidence they are ad- equately addressing these hazards they are considered at fault. For example, if a collision repair shop owner fails to ade- quately address a known bullying issue in their workplace, which spills over into social media and causes a worker to commit suicide, the collision repair shop owner would be under investigation for
industrial manslaughter.
Psychosocial hazards, such as bully-
ing, harassment, discrimination, and vi- olence, are not only harmful to a work- er’s mental and physical well-being, but they also have significant financial con- sequences for a collision repair shop.
Workplace bullying alone is estimated to cost Australian businesses around $6 billion annually, with the majority of the costs resulting from lost productivity and increased absenteeism. The Aus- tralian Human Rights Commission also reported that one in four Australian workers experiences discrimination, harassment and bullying on the grounds of race, sex, sexual orientation or gender identity in the workplace.
Moreover, recent statistics show that psychological claims accounted for around one-third of all claims in 2019-20, and the total number of psychological claims made was around 5,100.
STRESSED OUT
According to Safe Work Australia, in 2018-19, psychological stress was the most common work-related mental health condition, accounting for 39% of all claims. This highlights the signifi- cant impact of stress on workers and the importance of addressing it in the work- place, especially in the collision repair industry where the work environment can already be physically demanding.
Under the Fair Work Act 2009, work- placebullyingisdefinedasrepeated,un- reasonable behavior directed towards a worker or group of workers, that creates a risk to health and safety. Business own-
ers have a legal duty to provide a safe working environment which includes taking reasonable steps to prevent and address workplace psychosocial hazards.
Under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011, employers also have a duty to con- sult with their workers and other rele- vant parties to identify and manage work health and safety risks, including psychosocial hazards. Employers must also provide training, instruction, and supervision to ensure the health and safety of their workers.
By creating a positive and supportive work culture, providing education and training on mental health, and imple- menting effective policies and procedures to address bullying and harassment, a col- lisionrepairercanhelpensurethewell- being of their workers, protect themselves from legal liability, and comply with the relevant laws and regulations.
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People matter