A qualified joiner employed by a window and door manufacturer has been prosecuted and sentenced for their actions in bullying a vulnerable young worker. We previously reported on Elite Windows being prosecuted following their failure to protect a vulnerable employee from harm by providing a safe system of work. Now the bully in that case has pleaded guilty to their actions and has been sentenced to a Diversion.
From July 2022 to March 2023 the victim, an apprentice joiner with Asperger’s syndrome (autism spectrum disorder), dyslexia and ADHD, was bullied by the aggressor. The inappropriate workplace behaviour and bullying included:
- Using a piece of plywood to record each time the victim left his workbench to go to the toilet.
- Verbally abusing the victim by yelling at him and calling him offensive names and referring to him by offensive names to other employees.
- Threatening the victim and inciting him to fight by saying things like, “come on, come on hit me” whilst moving into the victim’s space.
- Interfering with the victim at his workbench by deliberately bumping into him whilst he was working and placing a wheelie bin near him at his workstation.
The impact on the young victim was devastating as he initially had looked up to the qualified joiner and the bullying continued for several months.
The Diversion imposed on the joiner requires that he:
- be of good behaviour for a year
- write a letter of apology to the victim via the court before 6 March 2026
- donate $1,000 to Dolly Foundation and provide to the Court a receipt of payment
- complete a specified Mental Health Awareness for Employees course and provide a certificate of completion to the court
The employer had previously been sentenced to a fine of $10,000 for failing to provide safe systems of work.
The intention of a diversion program is to enable those acknowledging responsibility for their offending at an early stage (usually first time and low-risk offenders) to avoid the formal court process and comply with conditions that benefit the offender, victim and community as a whole.
The diversion program is governed by section 59 of the Criminal Procedure Act 2009. Both WorkSafe and the court must support an accused’s proposal for diversion. If WorkSafe supports the proposal, charges are adjourned and, upon successful completion of the diversion program, dismissed
Read more: Prosecution Result Summaries and Enforceable Undertakings | WorkSafe Victoria