Presented by Zoran Bukarica - OHS Officer 23 Sept. 2013 OVERVIEW - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Presented by Zoran Bukarica - OHS Officer 23 Sept. 2013

OVERVIEW

• Definitions and terminology (overlap with other laws)
• The Challenges
• Assistance for members who are experiencing bullying
• Bullying Reporting form
• Internal Process for dealing with Bullying Allegations (Flowchart)
• Managing Conflicts of interest
• Assisting a member to defend bullying allegations
• Role of the OHS Bullying & Harassment Officer
• Information and Education
• ANMF’s Commitment

WHAT IS BULLYING?

• WorkSafe Victoria definition (October 2012)
• “characterised by persistent and repeated

negative behaviour directed at an employee(s) that creates a risk to health and safety”

EXAMPLES OF BULLYING

There are a broad range of direct and indirect bullying behaviours:

• abusive, insulting comments or offensive language

(incl. face-to-face, phone, email, text msg’s, social media)

• humiliating or putting someone down in front of others
• spreading malicious rumours or misinformation about

someone

EXAMPLES OF BULLYING

• changing work rosters and leave, to deliberately inconvenience a

particular employee(s)

• deliberately excluding someone from workplace activities
• excessive scrutiny at work, unjustified criticism or complaints
• setting unreasonable timelines or constantly changing deadlines
• setting tasks that are unreasonably above or beyond a person’s skill level
• withholding information that is vital for effective work performance

WHAT IS NOT BULLYING?

• A single incident of negative behaviour
• Low level workplace conflict
• Reasonable management actions (if carried out

in a fair and reasonable manner)

WHAT IS NOT BULLYING?

• Examples of Reasonable Management Actions:
• setting performance goals, standards, deadlines
• rostering and allocating working hours
• transferring a worker for operational reasons
• deciding not to select a worker for promotion
• informing a worker about unsatisfactory work performance if undertaken as per

Agreements, such as performance management guidelines

• informing a worker about inappropriate behaviour in objective, confidential way
• implementing organisational changes or restructuring
• termination of employment

TERMINOLOGY

Use of appropriate terminology and distinction between these related concepts is really important:

• Harassment - “unwelcome behaviour that offends, humiliates or

intimidates a person because of a particular personal characteristic protected by anti-discrimination laws”(i.e. race, age, gender, disability, religion, sexuality)

• Discrimination
• Direct discrimination - unfavourable treatment because of a ‘protected’

attribute in an area of public life

• Indirect discrimination occurs where a requirement, condition or

practice disadvantages a person with a protected attribute

THE CHALLENGES

• Downwards bullying from managers with authority over staff

(power position) very common in health sector workplaces

• Embedded bullying culture common in smaller workplaces
• incl. aged care facilities
• Difficulties for staff to raise their bullying complaint against a

D.O.N if their bullying behaviour is condoned by CEO & Board

• Members are often forced to accept what is happening or

eventually resign and many leave the profession

ASSISTANCE FOR MEMBERS WHO ARE EXPERIENCING BULLYING

• Advice and information provided by Info. Line
• Referred to Organiser - assess allegations, assist with formal complaint
• r investigation process
• Encouraged to seek counselling at Nursing and Midwifery Health

Program (NHMP)(Initiative of the Nurses Board of Victoria and ANMF (VB))

• Encouraged to submit Workers Compensation claim for psychological

injury

THE PROCESS

• Managing Bullying Complaints flowchart
• ANMF initial contact – via Info Line, Organiser
• Lodging workplace complaints, pursue investigation
• Lodging WorkSafe complaints
• Application for internal review

ANMF INITIAL CONTACT

Part 1 - ANMF Initial Contact

• 1. Has the member documented details of the alleged incidents? E.g. Diary of events with dates, times and witnesses?

Refer to Bullying Reporting Form

WORKPLACE POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

• Always encourage member to obtain workplace policies
• n bullying and issue resolution/grievance procedure
• Formal complaint should be made in accordance with

Bullying policy

• Often complaint is not handled in appropriate manner
• r in accordance with policy – we can then refer to

policy

• What if there is no policy?

BULLYING REPORTING FORM

• Assists members to document details of their

bullying incidents in an appropriate format

• Incl. date, time, location, witnesses, what happened, action

taken and any accompanying supporting documentation

• Assists ANMF staff to assess bullying complaint
• Does alleged behaviour fall within the definition of workplace

bullying (or is it reasonable management action)?

• Does the behaviour look like harassment or discrimination or

something else?

LODGING WORKPLACE COMPLAINTS

THE COMPLAINT

• Essential that the complaint be well written, using a

structured, chronological outline

• Quality of complaint can impact on investigation
• utcome
• Should only include relevant details
• Should avoid any emotive and inflammatory language
• Should be written objectively and factually

INITIAL MEETING/DURING INVESTIGATION

• Role of ANMF
• Distinction between support person and

representative

• Support during process

AFTER THE INVESTIGATION

• Review of outcome and investigation process
• Review of planned action
• Negotiation of appropriate action following
• utcome
• Even if allegations are unsubstantiated, management

action may still be appropriate

• Creative solutions may be required to resolve issues

LODGING WORKSAFE COMPLAINTS

APPLICATION FOR INTERNAL REVIEW

MANAGING CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

• Inter-member disputes
• Referred to relevant Industrial Officer for

delegation to another Organiser or the OHS B&H Officer, where required

• The ANMF’s role is not to take sides in

inter-member bullying issues

ASSISTING A MEMBER TO DEFEND BULLYING ALLEGATIONS

• Obtain copy of Bullying policy
• Allegations must be specific in nature
• Request copy of allegations and relevant

details

• Assist with responding to allegations
• Ensure procedural fairness for investigation

ROLE OF ANMF OHS BULLYING & HARASSMENT OFFICER

• Provide advice to Organiser during process
• Review the allegations and determine if they constitute bullying or not
• Provide advice of appropriate next steps
• Attend meetings with member if required by the Organiser
• Determine whether the investigation process was appropriate
• Determine whether the planned actions are appropriate
• Review the workplace Bullying policy and procedures
• Review whether appropriate to contact WorkSafe to make complaint or not

ROLE OF ANMF OHS BULLYING & HARASSMENT OFFICER …CONT

• Write to the employer when investigation/outcome/planned

actions are problematic

• Attend meetings with employer to negotiate appropriate actions

to resolve the bullying issues

• Consideration of injury to employment as result of making

complaint

• ? s242AA Accident Compensation Act action
• ? s76 OHS Act action
• Legal referral to ANMF lawyers where indicated

INFORMATION AND EDUCATION

• Information and Advice
• ANMF (Vic Branch) Info. Line provide advice and information
• Workplace Bullying Policy
• Guide to Assist members – Workplace Bullying (on-line)
• Bullying Information Packs (sent out to member)
• Brochure, Articles in newsletters
• Education and Awareness
• Seminars for Prevention of workplace bullying (x2 per year)
• Professional issues conference
• WorkSafe Approved HSR training provider

ANMF‘S COMMITMENT

• The ANMF (Vic Branch) believes that bullying behaviour is

not acceptable and should not be tolerated in any workplace.

• Everyone at the workplace has a responsibility to ensure

that bullying does not occur

• Everyone should be expected to work and behave

professionally and treat each other with tolerance, dignity and respect