Hi Renata – Can I issue a PIN for a s.25 breach by a colleague who is verbally aggressive to DWG members?
Whilst it is possible to serve a PIN on an individual employee, or rather the employer’s failure to address the harmful workplace behaviour that is creating a risk and contravening the OHS Act, there are a few considerations that must first be worked through.
Psychosocial hazards such as bullying and violence are serious hazards that can have serious negative outcomes – your employer has a duty to proactively eliminate or reduce such hazards. Usually when we refer to work-related violence it is in the context of violence against workers by members of the public, but it can also include verbally and physically violent behaviour from workmates.
Poor behaviour from an individual employee is a matter for employers to remedy with the individual. Have you reported this behaviour to management as an OHS hazard? Once a hazard has been identified and reported through the company reporting system, employers have a duty to follow the issue resolution process and consult with HSRs about the issue and the proposed controls.
Sometimes when bullying is identified by an individual, it is often an indicator of a wider problem with an organisation’s culture and systems. I recommend speaking with your DWG members and other HSRs to gauge the extent of the issue and determine if there are other psychosocial hazards present that are impacting your colleagues. If these issues are affecting other members of your DWG or indeed members of other DWGs then you should work together with the HSRs on a collective approach, which will present a much stronger and proactive stance that dealing with this alone.
WorkSafe has developed the Compliance Code: Psychological Health to guide employers on their obligations to manage workplace psychosocial hazards and associated risks. You can find directions on how to use the Compliance Code, including a breakdown of how the risk management process of identify, assess, control and review apply when dealing with psychological hazards.
If you have reported this issue and your employer has failed to control the risk, then you can look to further action such as the issuing of a PIN – potentially against your employer for failing to provide a safe workplace. It is essential that consultation has occurred prior to the issuing of a PIN.
Another factor to consider is the effect of this situation on your team. You may also want to consider discussing with management some team-strengthening activities for after the resolution of this matter to re-establish confidence and solidarity.
If you have any questions about OHS we encourage to fill out an Ask Renata query and one of our officials will get back to you shortly. Alternatively give Ask Renatabot a try!