Home » Workplace Harassment Standard

Definition

The new advisory standard defines workplace harassment to include repeated behaviour, other than sexual harassment, which is:

• unwelcome and unsolicited; and


• offensive, intimidating, humiliating or threatening.

When assessing whether behaviour is offensive, intimidating or threatening, the test is objective and excludes reasonable management action taken in a reasonable way.

The effect of the advisory standard is to address behaviour known to cause injury and illness, but which is not prohibited by existing discrimination or industrial legislation.

Employer's compliance obligations

To comply with workplace health and safety obligations, employers must either:

• do what the standard says; or


• adopt and follow another method that gives the same level of protection against the risk of workplace harassment.

If an advisory standard is not followed, it is very difficult for an employer to demonstrate that they have followed such an alternate method, remembering that the level of protection needs to be the same. As a consequence, the new advisory standard is likely to operate in practice as a mandatory code. Failure to comply may lead to a breach of the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995 (Qld) and consequent financial penalties.

Queensland Government's approach

The Queensland Government's approach emphasises the need for employers to deal with workplace harassment as an important workplace health and safety issue. Previous advisory standards have related to what might seem more traditional workplace health and safety risks (eg asbestos, manual handling, scaffolding and noise). The introduction of an advisory standard for harassment recognises that the effects can be equally as damaging.

The advisory standard commenced on 1 June 2004 and remains in place for five years.