Mapping the Legal Remedy Pathways for Workplace Bullying

Ballard, Allison; Easteal, Patricia

doi:10.1177/1037969x1403900206

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…Such actions could "tie employers up in rolling court actions for extended periods". Arguably, these fears were misplaced given the reality that targets already had access to a range of individual remedies, which could be used successfully to address workplace bullying [3]. Nevertheless, Coalition members were fearful that anti-bullying "outcomes are far less likely to be satisfactory in practice than in theory" ( [5], pp.…”

Section: Antecedents To the Reform: Hearing The Voices Of The Bulliedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The anti-bullying legislation provided a new and alternative mechanism to remedy workplace bullying. Prior to the introduction of these measures, targets (those who experience bullying) were necessarily restricted to best fitting the circumstances of their case to an appropriate common law or statutory, civil or criminal law cause of action [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Australia’s National Anti-Bullying Jurisdiction: Paper Tiger or Velvet Glove

Ballard¹,

Easteal²

2016

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Australia's innovative national anti-bullying legislation came into effect on 1 January 2014, against a backdrop of fear and resistance on the part of some conservative politicians and other stakeholder opponents. This paper contributes to an understanding of the efficacy and value of this fledgling jurisdiction or its lack thereof. In it, we describe the beginnings of the anti-bullying regime, outline the new legislative provisions, explore whether the inaction of the first six months has continued, examine the statistics arising from the jurisdiction's first 15 months of operation, and review the case law development over its first 18 months. We ask whether the anti-bullying jurisdiction is proving to be a paper tiger in an empty suit or iron fist in a velvet glove.

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Section: Antecedents To the Reform: Hearing The Voices Of The Bulliedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Australia’s National Anti-Bullying Jurisdiction: Paper Tiger or Velvet Glove

Ballard¹,

Easteal²

2016

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“…While this new jurisdiction ‘represents a proactive step in the right direction’ according to Ballard and Easteal (, 94), it remains to be seen how effective the approach will prove to be in reality. For example, the remedies offered to victims are problematic.…”

Section: The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and The New Anti‐bullying Regimementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ballard and Easteal claim that the new jurisdiction can be likened to a ‘stop sign’ ‘which the FWC can wave around to stem the flow of bullying traffic in an organization’, but ‘offers little else of substance to bullied workers’ (Ballard and Easteal , 95). The dearth of bullying orders made by the FWC suggests that perhaps the new jurisdiction may not be a magic‐bullet for workplace bullying.…”

Section: The Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) and The New Anti‐bullying Regimementioning

confidence: 99%

The race without a finishing line: legislative means for confronting bullying in the Australian workplace

Hanley

O'Rourke

2015

Asia Pac J Human Res

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In this paper we investigate the evolution of occupational health and safety (OHS) legislation aimed at harnessing workplace bullying. We begin with a brief discussion of workplace safety and literature covering workplace bullying. Then we present an overview of the development of Australian OHS legislation in recognising the influence of psychosocial hazards such as bullying. Following this we examine the Fair Work Commission's anti-bullying jurisdiction which commenced on 1 January 2014. We argue that while the new anti-bullying laws are a welcome response to the problem of workplace bullying, they offer a minimalist rather than a comprehensive remedy to the problem. We conclude that the only way to provide an adequate response is to create stand-alone legislation that recognises bullying as a criminal offence with remedies sufficiently castigatory to act as a deterrent to would-be workplace bullies and prompt proactive workplace cultural change.

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“…Potential silencers along internal /external workplace resolution pathways Silencing is a major issue as illustrated by the disparity between the alleged epidemic incidence of workplace bullying in Australia, 4 the low reporting of such behaviour (Easteal and Hampton 2011), and the (relatively) few Australian court and tribunal cases which have been heard and decided (Ballard and Easteal 2014).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Secret Silent Spaces of Workplace Violence: Focus on Bullying (and Harassment)

Ballard

Easteal

2018

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Any form of workplace abuse, be it bullying, sexual or non-sexual harassment, or other forms of workplace violence, represents a significant problem for both workers and organisations. The reality that worker complaints of such abuse are often silenced, frequently for long periods of time, has recently been spotlighted by the #MeToo movement. In this article we focus particularly on workplace bullying (some definitions include harassment). We explore how potential, and actual, complaints of such abuse may silenced—both before complaints are ever made, and also at different points along the complaint or dispute resolution process. We investigate how definitional and naming issues, worker ignorance and incapacity, workplace investigations, (alternative) dispute resolution and the legal pathways available to targets of workplace bullying and harassment may act to silence complaints. We also provide some practical suggestions for the targets of workplace abuse.

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Mapping the Legal Remedy Pathways for Workplace Bullying

Cited by 6 publications

References 1 publication

Australia’s National Anti-Bullying Jurisdiction: Paper Tiger or Velvet Glove

Australia’s National Anti-Bullying Jurisdiction: Paper Tiger or Velvet Glove

The race without a finishing line: legislative means for confronting bullying in the Australian workplace

The Secret Silent Spaces of Workplace Violence: Focus on Bullying (and Harassment)

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