Oz 22 Painting Pty Ltd, a domestic house painting company, has been convicted and fined $90,000 after bullying and sexually harassing an employee for two months, beginning on the first day of their employment.
The sole director of Oz 22 Painting was charged with failure to provide a safe workplace, a safe system of work, a safe means of entering and leaving work, and workplace bullying and harassment. They did not engage in the court process, leaving the court to decide the case ex parte (in absence). The sole director’s husband (TK) worked in the business after ceasing his director role in July 2021, and is the person with whom the employee was assigned to work.
In May 2022 when the employee began their first shift they were immediately subjected by TK to inappropriate comments, repeated requests to spend time together and unwanted touch. The bullying and sexual harassment escalated in July 2022 when the employee was to meet TK at a train station where he was to drive the employee to the job they were working on that day. Instead of driving to the job, TK drove the employee around for 1.5 to 2 hours while pressuring them to spend the day with him and to go to a hotel room. The employee reported the behaviour and resigned after this incident.
The court found that at the time Oz 22 Painting had no sexual harassment policy, meaning that they had failed to ensure that the workplace and the means of entering and leaving the workplace were safe and without risks to health.
Read more: Prosecution Result Summaries and Enforceable Undertakings | WorkSafe Victoria