Under federal and state laws, it is illegal to discriminate against people (treat them unfairly compared with others), or to harass them, in various areas of public life. One of these areas is employment.

In NSW, the combined effect of these laws means that employers must not treat employees/job applicants unfairly, or harass them, because of their:

• age
• carers’ responsibilities
• disability
• homosexuality 
• marital status 
• race 
• sex 
• transgender.

It is also against the law to treat an employee or job applicant unfairly, or harass them, because of the age, disability, homosexuality, marital status, race, sex or transgender of any relative, friend or colleague.

This means that throughout Australia all employers, managers and supervisors must treat all their employees, and anyone who applies for a job with them, fairly - that is, generally on the basis of their individual merit rather than irrelevant personal characteristics. It also means that they must do their best to make sure that their employees are not harassing any other employee or job applicant.

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Equal employment opportunity (EEO) means that everyone should have fair and equitable access to jobs, employment conditions, training and promotional opportunities. It does not assume that everyone has the same abilities but aims to ensure that everyone has a fair chance to demonstrate their abilities, to use them, improve them and benefit from them.

EEO is consistent with the principle of merit. It means that the best person is chosen for the job, promotion or training opportunity and that they are selected only on criteria which are relevant.

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Affirmative action strategies are put in place to provide special help for groups of people who have been disadvantaged in the past. For example an employer may run special training or recruitment programs for groups such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, women, people with disabilities or people of non-English speaking background. Such programs help to give these groups (sometimes referred to as target groups) skills and confidence to allow them to compete on equal terms with everyone else.

What can an employee do about harassment or discrimination?

People who are harassed or discriminated against have a legal right to complain to the Anti-Discrimination Board  if they can't solve the problem within the workplace and/or don't trust the workplace to solve it.

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If the harassment appears to be against the law, the Board will first investigate it confidentially and impartially. This will be achieved by listening to what everyone has to say, to see if what has been complained about appears to:

• have happened; and,
• be against the law.

If an investigation reveals that the law may have been broken, the Board will try to conciliate the complaint. This means trying to help the person who made the complaint and the employer reach a private and confidential settlement.

Depending upon the circumstances, settlement could be one or more of the following:

• financial compensation
• appropriate action taken against the harasser/s
• the development of appropriate anti-harassment procedures and policies
• management and/or staff training programs to help ensure that the same thing doesn't happen again.

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Bullying is unwanted, offensive and often also frightening behaviour that creates a risk of physical and/or psychological harm.
 
It can involve:

• Shouting or abusive language (including swearing or name-calling)
• Laughter or insulting comments because of an employee’s lack of experience, appearance, race, religion or sexual preference
• Physical abuse – people pushing, poking, tripping, hitting or threatening to hurt an employee.

At work bullying can come from co-workers, supervisors or customers. There are many different forms of bullying.

It is vital to act promptly to eliminate bullying in the workplace. Employers have a legal duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees. This duty could include eliminating risks arising from workplace bullying. Ongoing bullying can be costly in terms of increased sick leave, absenteeism and turnover. By creating a work environment which does not tolerate bullying, employers can substantially improve staff commitment and productivity.

What can an employer do to prevent bullying in the workplace?

There are a number of steps that can be taken to eliminate bullying in the workplace:

• establish and circulate a policy making bullying clearly unacceptable
• identify unacceptable behaviour and explain why it is unacceptable
• nominate a staff member who is trained in counselling and encourage anyone who feels they have been bullied to talk to them
• actively encourage employees who are being bullied to lodge a complaint
• guarantee confidentiality of any complaints and investigate them promptly
• ensure a fair hearing for the person being bullied and provide support
• monitor the work environment to ensure that it is bullying-free, especially where there has been restructuring or a change in personnel
• provide ongoing training for all staff to cover bullying awareness, harassment and discrimination, assertiveness, interpersonal skills and confidence building.

WorkCover NSW provides a range of resources to assist employers in preventing and eliminating bullying in the workplace.

For more information contact:

• WorkCover NSW
• Anti-Discrimination Board
• Australian Human Rights Commission
   

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