The introduction of a positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act to take reasonable and proportionate measures to eliminate sexual harassment, sex discrimination and other unlawful behaviours marks a turning point for organisations in how they proactively manage workplace behaviours. This intersects with the organisation’s management of psychosocial hazards under workplace health and safety regulations.
Taking reasonable and proportionate measures will further assist in demonstrating the organisation has taken ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent unlawful conduct occurring, which assists in reducing the risk of vicarious liability of the organisation for unlawful conduct of individuals.
More importantly, meeting and exceeding the Respect@Work obligations assists organisations to establish and maintain a respectful and engaged workplace environment where all employees can thrive – which drives positive outcomes for teams and the organisation as a whole.
Key to meeting the Respect@Work obligations is ensuring workers are educated as to the organisation’s values and expectations on appropriate workplace behaviour.
HR Legal can deliver bespoke training to support organisations to meet Respect@Work obligations, consistent with the Australian Human Rights Commission’s guidelines.
Available Training Courses
- Briefings to Executive Management on the Respect @ Work obligations, including setting the organisation’s strategy, managing legal and other risks and officer liability.
- Manager training directing at equipping leaders to understand unlawful behaviours, how to monitor appropriate workplace behaviours and how to respond to complaints.
- Training to the HR team to understand the legal framework, how to ensure the organisation is meeting the positive duty and how to approach workplace investigations.
- Whole of workforce training to educate staff on appropriate workplace behaviours.
Such training offerings will be tailored to the organisation’s size and demographics, taking into account relevant policies and complaints handling procedures.
In addition, HR Legal has developed a number of Respect @ Work service offerings including:
- Policies and procedures consistent with the Australian Human Rights Commission’s guidelines;
- Additional ‘tool box talk’ scripts to support leaders to continue to reinforce expectations at regular intervals; and
- Conduct of workplace investigations.
Contact HR Legal today to discuss how your organisation can best meet the Respect @ Work obligations.
