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Snapshot

  • Orders can only be made where there is a risk of the workplace bullying recurring
  • Where stop bullying orders operate to outlaw any interaction, it is difficult to see how that working relationship can ever be “normal”

Workplace bullying. Everyone’s talking about it. And we’re told that it costs Australian employers as much as $36 billion per annum. In May 2012, then Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Bill Shorten, asked the House Standing Committee on Education and Employment to inquire into and report on workplace bullying. More than 300 submissions were received. The overwhelming message? Employees just wanted it to stop. Skip to 1 January 2014 and the Labor Government’s amendment to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth), empowering the Fair Work Commission (FWC) to make “stop bullying orders”, commenced operation. So what are the orders all about, and what has the jurisdiction delivered so far?

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