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   Centre for Excellence in Child and Family Welfare > Projects > OHS Champion

Taking care of those who take care of others

Health & Safety in Child & Family Welfare Organisations 

  

 

Project Updates

-         Industry and Sector OHS profile

-         Research phase and what next

News & Resources

-         Useful materials

o        Office Ergonomics

o       Stress

o       Trauma

o        Occupational Violence & Bullying

o        Occupational Health & Safety Management

o        Work Related Driving

o        Manual Handling

o        Return to Work

o        Risk Management & Insurance

o        Volunteer Health & Safety

o        H1N1 Influenza

o        Health & Safety Representatives

o       Legislation

o        National OHS Laws

 

-         Training

-         OHS Consultations

-         Articles

o        High Court reins-in OHS Regulators

o        The cost of bullying

o        New OHS duty cast a wide net

o        What stress does to you

o        Long hours put strain on Australian workers

Useful Links

WHAT'S NEW?

OHS Information Sessions for Child & Family Services

Workers and employers will be informed of the main occupational hazards and risks in the sector and understand the legal obligations, roles and responsibilities under the OHS Act 2004. Places are limited so click on the relevant session below to register or for more information.

Employer session7 June, 12 August or 5 October 2010

Employee session - 22 June, 12 August or 14 October 2010

Entry is free of charge upon registration.

 

WorkSafe Information Sessions

The demands of work or running an organisation can mean it’s not always practical to keep up with the changes that affect you. WorkSafe is travelling around Victoria to help workers and organisations to understand more about workplace safety and the WorkSafe scheme. Hear about:

-         Changes to Victoria’s workers compensation laws

-         Helping an injured worker get back to work sooner

-         Support and advice for the calculation of your premium

-         Preventing common workplace injuries

Seats are limited, so book your place now.

 

How to prevent and respond to bullying in the workplace

Bullying affects the morale and performance of many Community Service workers and WorkSafe's research consistently shows 14 per cent of Victorian workers experienced bullying. It is repeated, unreasonable behaviour directed to an employee or group of employees that creates a risk to health and safety.

WorkSafe held free workshops across Victoria from May to June 2010 for employers, managers, supervisors and health and safety representatives to find out more about preventing workplace bullying and how to respond if it does happen. Attendees received a pack of resources to take back to the workplace to help develop systems that will prevent bullying, respond to reports of bullying and effectively meet legal duties under occupational health and safety laws. Find out more from WorkSafe Victoria.

 

Community Service Workers are stressed!

The latest statistics from Safe Work Australia’s workers’ compensation data 2006/2007 indicate that people who work in the health and community services sector are the most stressed in Australia. The compensation and time off work for stress related claims are three times higher than the median claim.

Lifeline Australia

 

OHS Champion e-Network

All Child & Family Service organisations are invited to nominate a representative to be on an Occupational Health & Safety (OHS) Champion e-Network for the sector. This e-Network will promote regular information exchanges and seek to establish

what constitutes best practice to improve the OHS experience of workers and organisations.

The e-Network serves to create and strengthen relationships to sustain outcomes from the OHS project. Sector workers reported a scarcity of formal or informal structures in place to allow OHS practitioners to network, meet, share ideas and resources. Consultations and feedback from organisations and workers have identified networking, resource sharing, collaboration and a common approach as key to improving OHS performance.

Members of this network will be supported in their efforts to advance OHS within the organisation. Primarily, they will be offered access to a panel of sector OHS experts

that the Centre has convened to serve the following purposes:

-   offer OHS information and advice to sector organisations;

-   promote OHS information and resource exchange;

-   provide a peer review of sector OHS practice;

-   review and promote policies and procedures that improve worker health &

     safety and

-   provide specialist input to inform the strategic directions of the OHS Champion Project.

Communication will be via email with e-Network members invited to submit questions

to the Project Officer who will in turn invite comment from the Panel and other

members, with the replies copied to all on the email list. To increase opportunities for collaboration resource sharing and development, the Centre will also be facilitating

regular meetings for sector OHS Champions in regional and metropolitan Victoria to

review and discuss identified issues and challenges. Please email Kelvin with your

nomination.

 

WorkHealth

WorkHealth aims to support Victorian workplaces by offering voluntary programs to promote health and wellbeing. The free & confidential health consultation is brought to you by WorkSafe Victoria and is part of the Victorian Government's plan to improve the health of the Victorian workers and the productivity of workplaces. Click here to find out more or to register your organisation.

 

OHS Project Background

 

In July 2008, WorkSafe Victoria funded the Centre to undertake a 2.5 year project (July 2008 to Dec 2010), to improve the OHS experience of community organisations providing services to children, youth and families. This project will achieve a broad coverage including out-of-home care and family services within its scope, and will cover all community organisations in this sector including non-member organisations.  In November 2008, Kelvin Lee was appointed Project Officer - Occupational Health and Safety to undertake this work.

The project was extended to Jun 2011 in April 2010 to take into account the late start and align timeframes with other sector related OHS projects by Kindergarten Parents Victoria & National Disability Services.

 

The project’s aims and the outcomes we hope to achieve are:

 

Aims

1. To improve occupational health and safety practice within community service organisations providing out-of-home care and family services.

2. To improve awareness of management and staff in these services about creating a safe work environment and following safe work practices.

3. To assess the need for training and assist community organisations develop OHS systems

4. To develop a range of resources as appropriate, to support the above.

5. To create and strengthen relationships between WorkSafe Victoria, DHS, peak bodies, unions and other funding sources, and relevant Workcover agents to sustain project outcomes.

 

Outcomes

1. A reduction in injuries and Workcover claims for community-based organisations delivering out-of-home care, and family support services.

2. Greater awareness about OHS, and sustainable policies and practices within these community organisations that will control and/or prevents injuries and risks to employees.

3. Establish regional forums and networks to sustain work on identifying OHS risks and actions/solutions.

4. Training needs analysis.

5. OHS education/information package targeted to specific risk areas identified by the sector.

6. An informed and collaborative approach to the management of OHS matters by the sector.

 

Project tagline

The project adopted “taking care of those who take care of others” as a catchphrase to remind employers and workers in CFW agencies of their responsibilities and that the provision of quality service or care is a natural outcome of a healthy and safe workforce.

 

Advisory Group

An Advisory Group was established in December 2008 to provide direction and support in the development of the Project and a strategy to address the OHS issues and advance its practice for the Out of Home Care and Family Services sector. Other than the provision of their informed views, members will also ensure that all relevant stakeholders are considered in the Project’s development. Advisory Group members are senior officers from community service organizations, peak bodies, unions, WorkSafe, DHS and the Office of the Community Sector. Small working parties may be formed from time to time as appropriate to provide advice on specific aspects or work. It is expected that the Group will meet once a month for the first six months and once every two months thereafter to provide advice at key points in the project.

 

Communication Strategy

CSOs and staff are kept informed of the project’s development and training or resources available through regular emails, the monthly Mailout and the Centre’s webpage on the Project. Executive Officers and staff may also be consulted through the regular network meetings at the Centre, regional focus groups and /or special meetings.

 

For more information on the OHS Project or the resources below, please contact Kelvin on (03) 9614 1577 or email kelvin@cwav.asn.au. Alternatively, contact your OHS Representative, WorkCover agent or WorkSafe for more information or assistance on worker health and safety.

 

 

Project Updates

 

Worker Health & Safety: Industry Experience

“High rate of workplace injuries one of the key reasons qualified staff leave the Victorian community sector”

-          “Recruitment and retention in the Community Sector: A snapshot of current concerns, future trends and workforce strategies”, VCOSS (2007)

-          Community Services sector has the largest number of WorkCover claims reported per year from 2003 to 2007

-          National average = 14/1000 claims, Community Services average = 15/1000 claims

-          Stress claims; National average = 9%, Community Services average = 36%

 

Child & Family Welfare sector standard WorkCover claims average:

o              143 workers/year

o              $1.62 million/year ($11,300/worker/year)

o              8,895 days compensated/year (62 days/worker/year)

o              80% of claims = Musculoskeletal Disorders (44%) and Stress (36%)

§         Occupational hazards for MSD:

·   office ergonomics

·   moving / lifting objects

·   occupational violence

§         Main hazards for stress:

·   harassment

·   occupational violence

·   work demands / support

 

Research phase

The above profile on the health and safety of the approximately 3,500 frontline workers in Residential Care, Foster Care and Family Services was established from a review of existing data and literature and visits by the OHS Project Officer, to community service organizations providing foster care, residential care and family services. The visits provided a better understanding of the services, the environment that workers operate in and the consequent OHS issues and challenges. Staff and managers were also interviewed to better understand their roles and responsibilities in managing OHS challenges, claims and some Return-to-Work issues. On-going consultation will enable sector workers to clarify issues raised, prioritise needs to be addressed and identify suitable approaches to occupational health & safety. This will also inform the development of a statewide online survey tool to be rolled out in September 2009.

 

National OHS Laws

The Centre submitted a paper in November 2009 in response to Safe Work Australia’s consultation around the draft National OHS Laws. Click here to view the paper. Safe Work Australia is responsible for developing national model OHS legislation. The model legislation will consist of a principal OHS Act, supported by model regulations and model codes of practice that can be readily adopted around Australia. Each state and territory will be required to pass their own laws that mirror the model OHS laws and adopt them by December 2011.

The Workplace Relations Ministers' Council has since endorsed the model Work Health and Safety Act on 11 December 2009. The Centre will look out for and participate in the next and final stage of consultation, expected in September 2010, around the regulations that support the Act. Click here for more information.

 

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OHS News & Resources for CSOs

 

1.      Useful Materials:

 

Office Ergonomics

How to sit at a computer

Office Environment Checklist

Office Ergonomics – University of Melbourne

Officewise – A Guide to Health & Safety in the Office

 

Stress

Work-Related Stress

Coping with a critical incident

Stress (VAADA)

Stresswise - Preventing Work-related stress

Preventing and managing psychological injuries in the workplace - Managers' guide

Online Stress Management Quiz

Managing Stress Toolkit (Lifeline)

 

Trauma

Trauma – All About

Trauma – How Our Body Reacts

Trauma – Reacting and Recovering

 

Occupational Violence & Bullying

What to do if bullying happens to you? NEW!

WorkSafe Bullying Risk Indicator NEW!

Employer checklist – preventing and responding to bullying at work NEW!

Preventing and responding to bullying at work NEW!

Workplace Violence and Bullying

Preventing Client-Initiated Violence

Preventing Violence Within Organisations

Occupational Violence & Bullying (VAADA)

 

Occupational Health & Safety Management

“Injury Hotspots” Posters & Safety Solutions

OHS Management System Quiz

Working Safely in Community Services

What to do if a Worker is Injured – A Guide for Employers

Fatigue Prevention in the Workplace

Controlling OHS Hazards and Risks

Consultation on Health and Safety

Guide to Incident Notification

 

Work Related Driving

Guide to Safe Work Related Driving

 

Manual Handling

Manual Handling and the risks of musculoskeletal disorders

Workplace safety - manual handling injuries

 

Return to Work

Guiding you through Return to Work NEW!

Return to Work Guide for Victorian Employers

Supporting the return to work of employees with depression - Advice for employers

Return to Work Plan Including Offer of Suitable Employment

 

Risk Management & Insurance

Emergency management planning NEW!

Guide: Insurance and risk management for Victorian community organisations

Risk Management Guide for Community Service Organisations (VMIA)

 

Volunteer Health & Safety

Community Services Volunteer Boards and Committees

Volunteers in Community Services

Volunteer Health and Safety

 

H1N1 Influenza

Victoria Health updates

WorkSafe's Employers’ guide on OHS preparedness for an influenza pandemic (May 2009).

 

Health & Safety Representatives

Access to health and safety information via the internet

Community Services Workplace Checklists

 

OHS Legislation

Guide: Community Organisations and Victoria’s OH&S Laws NEW!

Guide to the OHS Act 2004

Summary of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004

 

National OHS Laws (December 2011)

Model Legislation (Safe Work Australia

 

 

2.      Training

 

Centre for Excellence in Child & Family Welfare

Occupational Health and Safety Information Sessions for Employers

1st June; 3rd August and 5th October 2010 - Each session: 10.30 to 1.30pm

 

Occupational Health and Safety Information Sessions for Employees

22nd June; 12th August and 14th October 2010 - Each session 10.30 to 1.30pm

 

These sessions are held at the Centre and places are limited. Entry is free upon registration. For more information please contact Kelvin Lee on 9614 1577 or kelvin@cwav.asn.au

Other courses of interest may include:

Ensure a Safe Workplace

Look After Yourself: Strategies to Deal with Vicarious Trauma for Staff

Look After Yourself: Strategies to Deal with Vicarious Trauma for Managers

Fundamentals of Effective Supervision

Critical Incident Management Skills for Managers

Dealing with Challenging Behaviours

Click here to view all current courses or to register.

 

VCOSS OHS Education Project

VCOSS, working in partnership with WorkSafe Victoria, is funded by the Department Of Human Services’ Community Sector Investment Fund to develop and deliver sector specific OHS education opportunities. Click here for their training calendar and booking forms.

 

PILCHConnect

The PilchConnect service provides free and low cost legal information for not-for-profit community organisations.  PilchConnect is hosting monthly seminars on legal issues that affect not-for-profit community organisations. The seminars have limited places and are aimed at small to medium not-for-profit community organizations. Full details for each of the seminars be published on the website as they are made available.

 

Domestic Violence Resource Centre Victoria (formerly DVIRC)

DVRCV provides a range of training courses for professionals to increase participants' understanding of family violence and to improve their skills in supporting survivors.

Training topics include:

-         Responding to Family Violence

-         Not Seen or Heard: the Effects of Domestic Violence on Children (Accredited Unit CHCDFV 8B)

-         Working with Adolescents who are Violent & Abusive in the home

-         Case Notes, Domestic Violence and the Law

For more information, contact DVRCV at (03) 9486-9866 or visit their website.

 

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3.      OHS Consultations

WorkSafe, in collaboration with VicSERV and ANHLC, is rolling out free OHS consultations.

To help you make your organisation and staff safer and healthier, WorkSafe is funding the delivery of free and confidential OHS consultations with independent consultants.

Small CSOs:

WorkSafe Victoria is delivering these OHS consultations through the Small Business Safety Program. This offer is open to all Victorian CSOs with up to 50 employees (full-time equivalent, not including volunteers). All you need to do is register and an independent consultant will visit your workplace for up to three hours to provide expert advice on OHS and help you put together a Safety Action Plan, free of charge. Register here or for more information, visit WorkSafe’s Small Business Safety Program.

Medium CSOs:

CSOs with a staffing budget of $2 million - $15 million (inclusive) are also included. The independent consultant will develop a sustainable health & safety and return-to-work Action Plan detailing how your organisation can address identified issues.  These six-hour consultations are worth approximately $1000. Download a registration form.  Fax the completed forms to (03) 9654 5749.

 

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4.      Articles

 

High Court reins-in OHS Regulators

1 April 2010

A recent high court appeal has found in favour of an employer where the safety regulator alleged breaches, but failed to state “what the correct action” should have been.

This appears to be “a win for fairness and balance” in testing the duties of; employers, directors and managers.

The High Court has ruled that regulators must not only state the error (breach), but must also state what should or could have been done to prevent the breach e.g. accident.

In other words regulators will now have a greater onus to demonstrate reasonably practical solutions, instead the previously common practice of regulators to tell employers to “conduct a risk assessment”.

Note: This is an extremely brief summary of a very complex legal issue. We can expect more in-depth explanations from legal experts over the coming months, and we watch with interest the response of lower courts in future prosecutions.

Safety_in_Action_Newsletter_April_2010

 

The Cost of Bullying

23 March 2010

On February 9, 2010 a Victorian Magistrate handed down fines totalling $330,000 for workplace bullying. The employer was fined $250,000. The employees who subjected their co-worker to bullying were fined between $4,000-$10,000. This is the first major decision in Australia in setting a benchmark for prosecutions in the future.

What is bullying? A person bullies when they do or omit to do something that is repeated, systematic and directed towards an employee or group of employees, that a reasonable person would expect to victimise, humiliate, undermine, threaten or intimidate that person or persons, and which creates a risk to their health and safety.

Bullying is a form of harassment and should not be tolerated.

What are examples of bullying?

·         Being isolated or excluded.

·         Playing mind games or ganging up.

·         Being made fun of - particularly directed at the way the employee looks, their family, sex, race, culture or the like.

·         Being given meaningless jobs or unattainable deadlines or performance goals.

·         Withholding information or gossiping about the employee.

·         Physical harassment such as pushing, punching or wrestling.

·         Any form of direct physical contact that is unwelcomed.

·         Sexual propositioning, talk or contact that is unwelcomed.

The recent victimisation case contained terrible allegations involving the bullying of a 19 year old female employee over a period of 15 months that ended with her suicide. One of the allegations involved taunting the employee over a botched suicide attempt and pouring fish sauce over her hair and body. However, many of the allegations were similar to the above list.

The decision should warn all employers in respect of workers and contractors that:

1. You must have a behaviour policy and procedure in place that prohibits bullying, explaining what it is and explaining the risks of being a bully (termination/prosecution);
2. Train and induct all workers and contractors into the policy and procedure;
3. Train managers to detect bullying behaviour, to never condone it and to recognise the workplace symptoms that suggest bullying is occurring.
4. As part of the bullying policy and procedure include;
a. An informal path of resolution that is confidential and assists the employee resolve the issue without disciplinary action;
b. A formal investigation process with a disciplinary outcome; and
c. An employee onsite program to support victims of bullying so they stay at work, overcome the issue, have their self-esteem restored and develop resilience.
5. Ensure that all steps of the complaint and solution process are kept, and required to be kept confidential to avoid gossip and workers taking sides in the workplace.

Caution

Unless you have the above process it is likely that any disciplinary action taken by you will fail. You must have a bullet proof process and enforce it.

Douglas_LPT_2009

 

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New OHS Duty Cast a Wide Net

The much anticipated draft Model OHS laws are expected to be released for public comment next week reflecting the decision of the workplace Relations Ministerial Council on the recommendations of the National OHS Review Panel.

The draft legislation will introduce model provisions which each of the States and Territories have committed to adopting into law in each of their jurisdictions.

The draft legislation will recast the duty of care approach by introducing the concept of a person conducting a business or undertaking as being the central duty holder under the law. The laws will also include a new approach to personal liability and create new enforcement powers and higher penalties for OHS offences.

Duty of care

The legislation is expected to introduce a new duty holder to replace “employers” at the center of the general duty provisions – a person conducting a business or undertaking.

It is expected that under the new laws a person conducting a business or undertaking will be required to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety of workers engaged or cause to be engaged by the person and workers whose activities are influenced or directed by the person. In addition, the person will also have a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the health and safety of other persons is not put at risk from work carried out as part of the conduct of the business or undertaking.

More than one person can be a person conducting a business of undertaking at any given workplace. Notwithstanding that, each person must discharge their duty to the extent of their capacity to influence or control and consult, cooperate and coordinate their activities with those other persons.

This expanded duty has the capacity to broaden the existing duties significantly, extending their reach to any activities that may impact health and safety.

At a typical construction site the subcontractors will be conducting a business or undertaking in their respective trade and therefore will have a duty of care to other persons at the site. Principal contractors will also be conducting a business or undertaking of construction services. Superintendents and project managers will similarly be conducting a business or undertaking as will consultants on the project. Indeed, even the principal or developer of the project will be conducting a business or undertaking, namely that of commercial development of the site. All these persons will be duty holders under the legislation as persons conducting a business or undertaking.

The new approach also has the potential to capture complex corporate structures since holding companies and management companies may still be performing a relevant business or undertaking for the purpose of the legislation. Even financial lenders on projects may be performing a business or undertaking and therefore may have relevant duties under the legislation.

It is expected that the person conducting a business or undertaking will also have the obligations with respect to incident reporting and consultation thus completing replacing the need for the concept of employer to be maintained as a duty holder in the legislation. This is intended to maintain the expansive approach created through the creation of the duty-holder category but in practice is likely to come with some complications. It will, for example, create significant duplication of functions with multiple persons being obliged to report the same incident.

Penalties

It is expected that the legislation will introduce three categories of offences with the highest category attracting a maximum penalty of $3m.

Category

Description

Maximum Penalty

Category 1

Most serious cases – Breach of the primary (general) duty involving recklessness or gross negligence and serious harm (fatality or serious injury) to a person or a risk of such harm.

Corporation = $3 million Individual = $600,000 Imprisonment – up to five years

Category 2

Breach of the primary (general) duty where serious harm or the risk of it without the element of recklessness or negligence.

Corporation = $1.5 million Individual =  $500,000

Category 3

Breach of the duty that does not involve serious harm or the risk of serious harm.

Corporation = $500,000 Individual =  $100,000

The maximum penalty for individuals will be $600,000 and/or up to 5 years imprisonment.

In addition, it is expected that courts will have the ability to make publicity orders, restoration orders, community service orders, enforceable undertakings, injunctions, training orders and compensation orders.

Publicity orders are now a feature of the OHS legislation in most jurisdictions but they are sparingly used. In NSW where they have been available since 2001, they have been used against the government departments and local councils only.[1] If used more widely as they are in the environmental context, they have a very significant deterrence potential especially given the financial markets’ increased awareness of the link between good OHS performance and good corporate governance more generally.

Training orders also have significant potential. It is expected that the Court will on sentencing have the power to require the person convicted of an offence, and presumably officers of the person in the case of corporations, to undertake a specified course of training.

The power to order compensation for OHS offences, however, if introduced as is expected, will introduce a new dynamic to OHS prosecution. Prosecutions will shift from an exercise solely aimed at punishing the offender to one, at least in part concerned with compensating injured persons and families of deceased persons. This has the potential to give injured persons and families standing in prosecutions and an interest in such proceedings which they presently do not have. It also blurs the line between workers compensation and OHS enforcement and is likely to make proceedings more adversarial where there are allegations of negligence on the part of the injured person.

Public comment

The draft legislation is expected to be released shortly. While the principles put forward in the reports into the Review of National OHS legislation were on the whole sound, the devil is always in the detail. It is important that all interested parties pay particular attention to the draft legislation when it is released and make appropriate submissions in the public comment period.

HR_insight_Sept_2009

 

What Stress Does To You?

What can extreme or long-term stress do to your body, physically and mentally?

Most people would be surprised just how much of an affect this type of stress can have on our bodies. To assist Australians to build a picture, Lifeline Australia has created a simple diagram (attached and available at www.stressdown.org.au/media), showing some of the possible ways your body can be affected when exposed to prolonged or extreme stress.

“Some stress can be healthy, and can assist us to function at peak capacity,” Lifeline CEO Dawn O’Neil said today. “But extreme or prolonged stress can have a detrimental affect on our physical and mental wellbeing. Stress can have an impact on almost every part of the body. The sort of extreme or prolonged stress caused by traumatic events or long term work pressures can sometimes cause serious issues for our bodies.”

Stress can exacerbate mental health issues like depression, anxiety, insomnia and moods swings. It can be a cause of back pain, and tension, bad skin, and stomach cramps. It can affect our appetite, our reproductive systems and reduce our immunity against things like the cold and flu.

A recent poll by Newspoll for Lifeline Australia showed that 41% of Australians are experiencing high, unhealthy levels of stress.

“We have found that two in every five Australians are experiencing levels of stress that is potentially harmful. This stress is resulting, according to the poll, from work, finances, health, thoughts of the future and personal relationship pressures,” Ms O’Neil said.

“Around seventy percent of people who call Lifeline are experiencing high levels of psychological distress. So that’s why Lifeline is urging the country to look honestly at their own stress levels and work towards good stress management early, before it becomes a more serious problem.

For further information or comment contact:Chris Wagner, Lifeline Australia, 02 6215 9446 or 0434 378 939 Release date: 17 Jul 2009

 

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Long hours put strain on Australian workers

Australians feel that long working hours are intruding on their personal lives, with women feeling the strain more than men. A quarter of full-time employees feel work regularly interferes with their personal lives, according to Work, Life and Workplace Flexibility: The Australian Work and Life Index 2009 (AWALI) released by the University of South Australia. While men's dissatisfaction has remained steady since the first survey in 2007, two thirds of women working full-time felt they were constantly pressed for time, up from 59 per cent in 2007. Overwork is also harming workers' ability to improve their skills. Two thirds of the 60 per cent of employees who believed they could engage in further training said they did not have the time to do so.

Adelaide Advertiser report  

 

Study links stress, computers to musculoskeletal pain

A Sydney University study of 1300 Australian Public Service staff reveals that musculoskeletal symptoms are more likely caused by high workloads and tight deadlines than by posture or other physical factors, the Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) reports. Karin Griffiths, one of the researchers and a CPSU member, said that unmanageable workloads and unrealistic deadlines were among the stronger predictors of neck and back pain and employers should recognise the contribution of work stress to physical ill-health.
"When you have staff doing a job that is already computer based, then give them higher workloads, tighter time constraints and more deadlines, the evidence suggests that you substantially increase the risk of musculoskeletal symptoms," she said. Further, the study revealed that working in front of a computer for six or more hours a day increased the risk of musculoskeletal problems by up to 230%, while working in front of computers for eight or more hours increased the risk by up to 500%. Griffiths said that increased computerisation was a health hazard for the Australian public sector where 80% of staff spends three-quarters of their working day at a computer. "Advances in technology have created a sedentary environment in our working lives. Instead of getting up to go to the library, consulting a manual or even talking to a colleague, it’s all done from our desks," she said.
Source: Workplace OHS (
SafetyNet Journal)

 

Workplaces rife with bullying
Despite the risk of hefty fines and damage to corporate reputation, many employers still seem blasé about the issues of workplace discrimination and bullying.

Australian workplaces are rife with bullying, with almost one in three (30 per cent) employees claiming they have been bullied at work and one in four (24 per cent) that they have been discriminated against.
The findings are the result of a national survey of more than 2000 employees con ducted by online learning and information management provider WorkPro. According to its Workplace Pulse Quarterly Survey, bullying remains a feature of the workplace, with 27 per cent of respondents stating that bullying or discrimination has happened to them with in the past two years.
Almost half (46 per cent) of respondents said they had seen their colleagues bullied or discriminated against within the past two years. Even more alarmingly, 31 per cent of the group had witnessed such behaviour multiple times.
According to WorkPro business manager Tania Evans, the problem is far more prevalent than many employers realise. “Organisations need to realise that bullying and unfair treatment of staff is occurring and could be impacting on their own workplace culture or, worse still, exposing them to the risk of liability, possible fines and even brand damage.

“Managing the risks is about empowering your people to fully understand their rights and responsibilities at work, and to feel like they can speak up on inappropriate behaviour with out experiencing recrimination as a result.”
The research also found that Australian employees are very aware of workplace sensitivities. Almost three-quarters (71 per cent) of respondents said they worry about offending colleagues in a discriminatory way, such as on the basis of gender, disability or other distinctive attributes.
Unfortunately, despite this strong level of awareness, 27 per cent expressed uncertainty regarding when their own rights are being violated and 31 per cent are under the wrong impression when it comes to who is legally responsible to provide this information, indicating a need for further education.
Evans says it is surprising that, given the business risks, employers are still not ticking all the boxes on equal employment opportunity (EEO) and occupational health and safety (OH&S) education. “The results show that Australian employees have a thirst for knowledge about their workplace rights and obligations,” Evans maintains.
More specifically, employees indicated they would most value information on: what to do if bullied or discriminated against (16 per cent); their workplace rights (14 per cent); unacceptable versus acceptable workplace behaviour (12 per cent); and who to report an incident to (11 per cent). Some 46 per cent want information on all these matters before commencing a new role.
“What many employers fail to realise is that they do not have to be directly involved in, or even aware of, an incident for them to be liable,” Evans says. “They can be prosecuted for an incident that happens between other staff members, as well as for not providing employees with adequate OH&S and EEO information and training, yet the latter is an area often left alone in terms of induction.”

Human Resources Leader - 2 April 2009

 

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WorkSafe highlights legal consequences of safety failings
A number of cases involving significant workplace health and safety issues have gone before the courts this week. WorkSafe says this highlights that the message on OHS still needs to be heard by many employers. WorkSafe’s Legal Services and Investigations Division Director, Stan Krpan, said while penalties for serious breaches of safety laws now exceeded one-million dollars he was still concerned many people did not take their obligations seriously.

“With Victoria’s work-related death toll now standing at 11 for the year and serious injuries occurring daily, WorkSafe is taking a rigorous approach to enforcement, particularly in cases where the failings were obvious and easily fixable. We are not backing down from our core responsibility to the community to administer and enforce Victoria’s safety laws”, he said.
Three of the seven cases in court this week involve fatalities, another resulted in a man suffering brain damage and in another, a man lost all the toes on one foot. Two men are charged with intimidating a WorkSafe inspector and a company has been charged with having inadequate guarding on a machine even though no one was hurt. All the matters involve serious allegations that will now be tested in the courts.

SafetyNet will report on the outcomes of these cases as they come to hand.
VWA media release

 

NSW:  Former cop wins $1.6 million for post traumatic shock
A former undercover police officer has been awarded $1,680,000 for a post-traumatic shock condition (PTSC) brought on by exposure to violent criminals. The NSW Court of Appeal made the judgement after the initial trial judge refused damages. The female officer was medically discharged from the NSW police force in 2005 suffering from PTSC. She claimed her employer failed its duty of care by not regularly reviewing her mental health during her 11 years as an undercover officer. She said her accumulating stress may have been avoided had the condition been identified earlier. At trial, a single judge had refused damages, finding her employer had not committed any breach of its duty of care. But on appeal three justices found the NSW Police Force's negligence caused, or materially contributed to the officer's injury. Regular reviews of officers' mental health should have been a feature of undercover work, the judges found. The court heard the woman served three years full-time as an undercover cop and more than eight years' part-time. She suffered two severe trauma incidents towards the end of her career, which she claimed contributed to her condition.
SMH news article

 

 Stressed rats make poor decisions

Chronically stressed rats make poor decisions and their brains become ‘rewired’. These are some of the findings of a new study from the University of Minho in Portugal and the United States National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Maryland. The researchers explained that “the ability to shift between different behavioural strategies is necessary for appropriate decision-making.” The stressed rats in the study appeared to lack that ability. The rodents were trained to use two levers for another of the tests, one for each treat. After the rats learned the rules, the researchers picked one treat to dispense randomly, whether or not the rat hit the lever. The relaxed animals hit that treat's lever less often, while the stressed rats continued to hit both levers with equal frequency.
When the scientists studied a region of the rats' brains called the dorsal striatum, they found striking differences between the two groups. In stressed rats, neurons in the dorsomedial striatum, an area associated with goal-directed behaviour had shrunk, making fewer connections to other cells. Meanwhile neurons in the dorsolateral striatum, an area that controls habits, had grown and formed more branches. The researchers concluded that chronic stress rewires areas of the brain involved in the switch between goal-directed and habitual actions.
The findings have implications for workers in jobs where rote decision-making inhibits the ability to adapt to changing environments. The authors of the study noted that this was highly detrimental and that the findings have a broader impact on everyday decision-making in humans.
Ergonomics Today 

 

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National OHS Review – Coverage of Volunteers

(Article from Volunteering Australia's e-newsletter “Involve” issue 5/2009)

A National Review into Model Occupational Health and Safety laws has been underway since early 2008, with a view to one model law being adopted across Australia within five years.  Harmonising OHS laws in this way aims to cut red tape, boost efficiency and provide greater certainty and protections for all workplace parties.  It will certainly reduce complexity for organisations working across different jurisdictions.

Coverage of volunteers is not explicit in all current state and territory OHS legislation.  The advisory panel’s lengthy second report to government makes the recommendation (Recommendation 93) that the model law should define a ‘worker’ (rather than an ‘employee’ which has a legal meaning) consistently with the definition in the Northern Territory Act, which explicitly includes volunteers in its coverage.

Further discussion in the report on the broadening of the definition with the report says:

“This definition would mean that volunteers are owed the various duties of care owed to a worker. They would also have the duty of care of a worker to take reasonable care for their own safety and that of others, and to cooperate with the person conducting the business or undertaking. We consider it to be appropriate that they should have that duty of care, if they are undertaking work. Any concern that this may deter people from volunteer work may be minimised by noting the standard of reasonable care is to that applied for negligence under the criminal law.”

In the absence of explicit reference to volunteers in most current OH&S laws, it is recommended that the common law duty of care to, and by, volunteers in the carrying out of their volunteer duties is observed.

As the various reports to government are both lengthy and complex, all of the potential implications are not covered in this update.  Nor is it yet certain which recommendations will be adopted by government at the conclusion of the review. Further analysis will be provided when available.

For further information visit the Australian Government’s National OHS Review website.

 

Employers must manage mental health issues: Report

A UK study says employers should do more for the mental wellbeing of staff returning to work after sick leave. The report, Returning to work, the role of depression, said employees who accessed services like counselling and cognitive behaviour therapy returned to work sooner and made quicker recoveries. It said those returning to work after mental health episodes found it harder to adjust than those with physical conditions because line managers and colleagues had little understanding about depression and anxiety. The research, conducted by Loughborough University’s Department of Human Sciences for the UK Mental Health Foundation (MHF), compared return-to-work experiences of individuals suffering heart disease, back pain and cancer to those with depression and anxiety. The report said 45% of those with physical conditions experienced mild-to-moderate depression but were more worried about telling bosses about psychological issues than their cancer or heart disease, even though depression impacted on their wellbeing and ability to function at work.
Mental Health Foundation (SafetyNet Journal)

 

Flu pandemic preparedness

The World Health Organisation has declared that a flu pandemic is imminent. With Australia and the rest of the Southern Hemisphere heading into peak flu season there is an increased vulnerability here. Whilst there have been no cases of swine flu in Australia, companies and workplaces are being advised to prepare for the possibility of a genuine flu pandemic. Reps should keep up-to-date with the latest news, and think about the likelihood that this may be a hazard in their workplace.

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has recommend workplaces adopt hygiene measures to battle the swine flu pandemic. According to the AMA, good personal hygiene will help reduce the transmission of swine flu in workplaces. It recommends that everyone in a workplace:

  • washes hands regularly with soap and water
  • uses alcohol-based sanitisers
  • covers their mouths while coughing or sneezing
  • disposes of used tissues appropriately.

Employers should be developing pandemic preparedness plans - in consultation with elected health and safety representatives. This would include procedures to identify any situations where the virus might be spread (for example employees returning from overseas travel) and appropriate controls. The employer should ensure that any employees returning to work (particularly from Mexico or US border-states) and experiencing flu symptoms see their general practitioner to avoid putting others at risk.

Comcare advises that organisations now consider reviewing and implementing their flu pandemic preparedness plan to prepare for a potential Swine Influenza outbreak. If your organisation has yet to develop a flu pandemic preparedness plan, Comcare suggests that you do so immediately using the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet’s publication Pandemic Planning In The Workplace. (SafetyNet Journal)

 

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5.      Useful Links

 

Federal and other states

Australian Government – OHS (Workplace Health & Safety)

Australian Services Union - OHS

Beyond Bullying

Business.gov.au - OHS

Ergonomic Office Online

Health Services Union of Australia - OHS

Human Resource Leader

National Safety Council of Australia

Safe Work Australia

Safety at Work Blog

Victoria

Better Health Channel

Community Sector Investment Fund (DHS) – OHS Strategies

Funded Agency Channel (DHS) – Work Health; OHS & WorkCover

Go for your life – healthy eating and physical activity

Occupational Health & Safety Act 2004

OHS For Community Organisations (VCOSS)

OHS Reps @ Work

Stress – WorkSafe

Stress and your health (Australian Medical Association)

VicHealth

Victorian Council of Social Service - OHS

Victorian Legislation and Parliamentary Documents – OHS Act 2004

Victorian Managed Insurance Authority

WorkHealth

WorkSafe Victoria

 

International

European Agency for Safety & Health at Work

New Zealand Dept of Labour – Health & Safety Site

Hazards Magazine (UK)

 

For more information on the OHS Project or the above resources, please contact Kelvin on (03) 9614 1577 or email kelvin@cwav.asn.au.

 

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 Project Documentation

Expand/Collapse Category : Project Information ‎(3)
Advisory Group Members.pdfAdvisory Group Members
Advisory Group Terms of Reference.pdfAdvisory Group Terms of Reference
OHS Project Work Plan.pdfOHS Project Work Plan
Expand/Collapse Category : Resources ‎(2)
OHS Fact Sheet - Feb 2010.pdfOHS Fact Sheet - Feb 2010
Residential Care Risk Management Strategy Book 2002 (To be updated).pdfResidential Care Risk Management Strategy Book 2002 (To be updated)

 OHS Videos

Interview with WorkSafe coming soon. Watch this space!