Workplace bullying and sexual harassment are serious issues in the workplace that can harm a worker’s physical and mental health as well as their safety. Everyone in the workplace has the right to work in a healthy and safe environment, and also has a duty to help stop bullying and sexual harassment at work. If you encounter workplace bullying or sexual harassment, it is important to use the law to protect yourself.

What is workplace bullying

If your employer, manager, or colleagues subject you to verbal, physical, social, or psychological abuse at work, you may be experiencing workplace bullying. Under the Fair Work Amendment Act 2013, workplace bullying occurs when a person repeatedly engages in unreasonable bullying behaviour towards another person, and that behaviour creates a risk to the health and safety of the person being bullied. Workplace bullying can happen in any type of workplace, from offices to shops, cafes, restaurants, workshops, community groups, and government organisations. It can affect all types of workers, including volunteers, interns, apprentices, and casual and long-term employees.

Workplace bullying can have negative effects on the mental and physical health of the person being bullied, for example causing them to:

• lack confidence in their work and feel fear, stress, anxiety, or depression;
• have their life outside work affected, including studies and relationships;
• want to stay away from work;
• feel unable to trust their employer or the people they work with;
• lose confidence and enjoyment in themselves and their work;
• experience physical signs of stress, such as headaches, back pain, and sleep problems.

Some types of workplace bullying may constitute criminal offences. If you have experienced violence, assault, or stalking, you can report it directly to the police.

Examples of workplace bullying

The following behaviours may constitute workplace bullying:

• repeated hurtful remarks or attacks, or making fun of your work or you as a person (including your family, sex, gender identity, race or culture, education, or economic background);
• sexual harassment, particularly behaviour such as unwelcome touching and sexual comments or requests that make you feel uncomfortable;
• excluding you or preventing you from working with others;
• playing mind games or forming cliques;
• intimidation (making you feel less important or devalued);
• assigning you pointless tasks that have nothing to do with your job;
• giving you work that is impossible to complete, or that cannot be completed with the resources provided;
• deliberately changing your work hours or schedule to make things difficult for you;
• deliberately withholding information you need to do your job;
• pushing, tripping, or grabbing you in the workplace;
• attacking or threatening you with equipment, knives, guns, sticks, or other objects.

The following behaviours do not constitute workplace bullying:

• Reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable manner is not bullying. For example, an employer or manager making decisions in response to poor work performance, or directing and controlling how work is carried out.

What is workplace sexual harassment

Under the Fair Work Act, the following behaviours constitute workplace sexual harassment:

• unwelcome sexual advances;
• unwelcome requests of a sexual nature;
• other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature.

In addition, conduct amounting to sexual harassment must meet the following requirement:

• a reasonable person would have anticipated that the person being harassed would feel offended, humiliated, or intimidated by that conduct.

This means that whether conduct amounts to sexual harassment depends on how a reasonable person would understand the behaviour in the circumstances. Conduct that amounts to sexual harassment in one situation may not amount to sexual harassment in another.

Sexual harassment does not have to be repeated or ongoing. It can be a one-off incident. Conduct that does not amount to sexual harassment may still be considered workplace bullying or discrimination.

Seeking help

If you encounter workplace bullying or sexual harassment, you can seek help through the following avenues:

1. Lodge a complaint with the Fair Work Commission. You can submit a complaint application form on the FWC website.
2. Lodge a complaint with the Fair Work Ombudsman.
3. The Australian Human Rights Commission receives complaints about workplace bullying, harassment, or discrimination covered by federal anti-discrimination laws, including discrimination on the basis of sex, disability, race, and age.
4. You can also lodge a complaint with your state or local anti-discrimination body.

Final thoughts

If you encounter workplace bullying or sexual harassment, use the law to protect yourself and lodge a complaint with the relevant authorities. If you are an employer, it is essential to put in place anti-bullying and anti-sexual-harassment policies to address potential misconduct in the workplace and to handle any complaints effectively. If you have any legal questions about workplace issues, please feel free to contact our experienced lawyers.