Claims of bullying, particularly against female Liberal MPs, have emerged in the wake of Victorian MP Julia Banks’ decision to quit the party over what she claims were pressure tactics used during the leadership spill.
That led to claims earlier this month from Liberal senator Lucy Gichuhi that she had been subjected to bullying and intimidation from Liberal party members during her pre-selection battle, which she lost in July. But Ann Sudmalis became the first federal Liberal MP to “name names”, using parliamentary privilege to accuse NSW Liberal MP Gareth Ward of "bullying" and "betrayal”.
Mr Ward denied the allegations, refuting Ms Sudmalis’ claims that he branch-stacked, leaked and undermined her position.
Parliamentarians are among the one in two workers that will experience bullying in their career with 40 per cent subjected to it early in their career, according to a by Beyond Blue.
Liberal Member for Gilmore Ann Sudmalis. Source: AAP
The Productivity Commission calculated the cost of lost productivity due to workplace bullying amounting to $6 billion and $36 billion a year.
What is the definition of workplace bullying?
Workplace bullying is defined in (Cth) as unreasonable behaviour that creates a risk to health and safety.
“Reasonable management action” is not considered workplace bullying under the definition.
Since 1 January 2014, the national workplace relations tribunal - Fair Work Commission (FWC) - has been tasked with the power to make orders to stop and prevent a worker from being bullied at work. It cannot award compensation.
In 2016-17, the FWC received a total of 722 applications for an order to stop bullying.
Only 60 applications, or nine per cent, were finalised by a decision, with the other orders withdrawn or resolved before the Commission’s decision.
Some guidelines on what could be considered “unreasonable behaviour” can be found in the Fair Work Commission’s .
A 2015 Fair Work Commission case sets out some salient examples , including: “...intimidation, coercion, threats, humiliation, shouting, sarcasm, victimisation, terrorising, singling-out, malicious pranks, physical abuse, verbal abuse, emotional abuse, belittling, bad faith, harassment, conspiracy to harm, ganging-up, isolation, freezing-out, ostracism, innuendo, rumour-mongering, disrespect, mobbing, mocking, victim-blaming and discrimination.”
Spreading malicious rumours, practical jokes or initiation, exclusion from work-related events and unreasonable work expectations have also been found to constitute bullying.
Some workplace bullying behaviour may be considered a criminal offence, such as those involving violence, assault and stalking.
The behaviour may also be discriminatory (based on age, race, religion, disability) under anti-discrimination legislation at the state and Commonwealth level.
Different requirements apply to bullying claims made under workers compensation or worker's health and safety.
What is reasonable?
Giri Sivaraman, principal at law firm Maurice Blackburn, which has represented victims of alleged workplace bullying said the most contentious area is determining what is and isn’t reasonable behaviour.
"The real question for debate is what is unreasonable. Employers may have a much higher bar than employees, in terms of what is unreasonable.
"And it is going to turn a little bit on the specific workplace. So that is where there is the ambiguity," he said.
"Ultimately, it is the (Fair Work) Commission who sets the standard.
"They will to some extent consider what they call ‘management prerogative’ and the right to set standards and discipline people in the workplace; compared to going too far, or damaging people, or overreaching. So it is that balancing act."
What isn't classified as workplace bullying?
The bullying has to meet the three criteria set out in the Fair Work Act, including:
1. Repeated conduct, it can’t be a one-off
2. Risk of it happening again, the alleged victim and bully needs to be in the workplace
3. Risk to the worker’s health and safety
Management action that is reasonable, but not necessarily ideal, is not considered workplace bullying.
This is determined by an assessment of the management action, not the workers’ perception of it. Performance appraisal, performance review, performance monitoring and mentoring are examples of reasonable management action.
However, conducting an investigation in a grossly unfair manner was found to be bullying in
What to do if you think bullying has happened?
The advice of the Human Rights Commission is to resolve the issue internally as a first step by accessing the bullying policy and complaints procedure of the workplace.
In making a complaint, documentation will be required, including a diary of the alleged bullying and the steps taken to stop the behaviour.
Support services, including your union, can be contacted for assistance.
Complaints can be made to the Australian Human Rights Commission or the
An order under the Fair Work Act to stop the bullying can be made by filing a . The filing fee is $71.90.
Violent or threatening behaviour that is considered a criminal offence, should be referred to the police on 000 in urgent situations or 131 444 for non-urgent scenarios.
