sexual harrassment and work place bullying.`

[Garth]

nice little topic,
anyone here upto date with their current law's regarding harrassment in the work place? need to talk to you via pm.

[ClairBear]

Most Companies have their own policies Garth, but maybe these links can help.

Workplace harassment - Workplace Health and Safety Queensland

Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland - Your Guide

[87RB30VL]

Most Companies have their own policies Garth, but maybe these links can help.

Workplace harassment - Workplace Health and Safety Queensland

Anti-Discrimination Commission Queensland - Your Guide

+1

Every workplace has different policies, as Clair stated, so it's hard to discuss based on where we work, i.e. I work in a Nursing Home, which has different policies to, say, my brother's work in an Office building, due to the fact that I work around elderly people etc etc.

[Garth]

I know the company i work for does have a pollicy for harrassment im mainly after a definition or someone can tell me what ive said comes under harrassment, realy feels like im being made a example off over something to me which seems so trivial

[OFF T4P]

You have a right to ask your employer for a hard copy of any legislation. I am a safty rep at a mine and have delt with these sorts of things a bit ( only as a rep). Most employers will not stand for any sort of harrassment. Most of the time ending in dissmisal. If a complant is made against someone the employer has to action it. If you dont mind me asking what was it you said.

[Voodoo_SV6]

Do you have a HR department or a HR rep you can talk to? They, whilst employed and paid for by your company, should remain independant and be able to give both side the correct standpoint and interpretation of the companies policies.

Ask them for some advise.

Hope you don't become thwe scapegoat for your company to enforce a policy. Stay on your toes and be VERY careful what you say to whom in your work place

[W84N01]

Do you have a HR department or a HR rep you can talk to? They, whilst employed and paid for by your company, should remain independant and be able to give both side the correct standpoint and interpretation of the companies policies.

Ask them for some advise.

Hope you don't become thwe scapegoat for your company to enforce a policy. Stay on your toes and be VERY careful what you say to whom in your work place

Have to agree here too. I am a safety rep at my work place and we deal with this quite often as well.

Unfortunately you can be talking to one of your friends, and someone standing around the corner you didn't even know was there could be listening and taking offense to what you say, and they can have you for harassment, without you even knowing they overheard you talking. As innocent as something might be to you, it can blow up and be something huge to someone else. (total crap i know, as they weren't even involved in that conversation in the first place).

Everywhere you go, this is the way it is, and Companies have to take it seriously. I'm sorry you are going thru this, and i would recommend you go get some advice, as this could turn fairly nasty. Best thing you can do is arm yourself with information (the right kind) to help your case.

Very firs tthing you are entitled to do, is ask what you said to offend the third party, you also have the right to have a discussion with that third party in the bosses office or with the HSE to try and sort this out ASAP. You still have rights and you are entitled to excersize them, all throught the right channels of course.

Good luck with it, and please if you don't mind keep me informed as to the process your company takes and the outcome.

Check these out: http://www.dmp.wa.gov.au/documents/C...OfViolence.pdf
http://www.health.wa.gov.au/circular...hments/402.pdf

[Crisis63]

nice little topic,
anyone here upto date with their current law's regarding harrassment in the work place? need to talk to you via pm.

The laws are all nice but in the end if you have a manager who is doing what you claim you are already on shaky ground. I’ve experienced it first hand in a large government organisation and once you start down the path of having it investigated you will quickly see just how well the laws work and can possibly help.
Remember, H.R. is a department funded by your employer. They are not there to help you necessarily. They are there for the company to manage its workforce. If what is happening is illegal you may have a chance but you will need to collect evidence carefully and objectively and you may find you are up against more than one person depending on your situation. Personally I would seek advice and assistance from outside your organisation.
To be honest these are the times you need o be in a union but having said that if your manager has it in for you on a personal level I hope you work for a company with very robust ethics an procedures surrounded such things.
This is of course from my own personal experience but me, I left.

[STEEV888]

i stated that a fellow work member looked like somebody from a tv show, said work member did not like the show.
i got removed from that particular work place.

[Gravity]

W84 advice is exactly what I'd say too. So, ditto.

[ClairBear]

Unfortunately you can be talking to one of your friends, and someone standing around the corner you didn't even know was there could be listening and taking offense to what you say, and they can have you for harassment, without you even knowing they overheard you talking.

This is what is wrong with the world. Too many damn Princesses taking offence. Sure if you were saying someone was a slut who had slept with half the Department, that wasn't necessarily true and she heard you, but seriously I have heard some pathetic stories where people need to stop being so damn delicate and harden up. Lives are being ruined. There is a line between being harrassed and simply overhearing something about your religion / race and taking offence, and this line needs to be defined and we need to stop placating all these sensitive people.

[acarmody]

We had someone try to sue us once, on her first day of work too. Said I called her fat, and said another staffer was discriminating against her because she was a homosexual. Well I never called her fat, and considering Im 120kg I highly doubt I would be in much of a position to speak, and the male staffer who apparently 'hates all homosexual', is, you guessed it, a homosexual, a really nice guy we all liked.

She never won the case. We just assumed whe was one of those people who go job-to-job and keep trying to sue so they don't have to work. Or that she just has MAJOR mental problems.

[the_trademarc]

This is what is wrong with the world. Too many damn Princesses taking offence. Sure if you were saying someone was a slut who had slept with half the Department, that wasn't necessarily true and she heard you, but seriously I have heard some pathetic stories where people need to stop being so damn delicate and harden up. Lives are being ruined. There is a line between being harrassed and simply overhearing something about your religion / race and taking offence, and this line needs to be defined and we need to stop placating all these sensitive people.

I give one of these to everyone who acts like a soft #### around me, mates or co-workers. Yes I've gotten into a bit of strife but its really what they need.

[the_trademarc]

nice little topic,
anyone here upto date with their current law's regarding harrassment in the work place? need to talk to you via pm.

Seriously though mate, we just did a 2-day course last week on workplace bullying and sexual harassment and the like (yes 2 whole days!), so I'm happy to help out if you like.

[discomat]

PM me OP, I have a major in HR. May be able to help you.

[87RB30VL]

I was at work one day (current workplace, few years ago) and Stacey* asked me if I was dating Jane*, a fellow employee. I said "Nah, she wants my bits!" in a joking manner, as we were good friends, and it ended up getting back to Jane* as Stacey* had been spreading a rumor that Jane* apparently wanted my d-ck. Well, Jane wasn't happy, and went and told her manager, who told my manager, who told Stacey's* manager, and Stacey* ended up having to get moved to another department all together. I just got told to be careful what I say to people at work as I could have been in the shit for saying she "wanted my bits", even if we were good friends.

*Names have been changed.

[Crisis63]

This is what is wrong with the world. Too many damn Princesses taking offence. Sure if you were saying someone was a slut who had slept with half the Department, that wasn't necessarily true and she heard you, but seriously I have heard some pathetic stories where people need to stop being so damn delicate and harden up. Lives are being ruined. There is a line between being harrassed and simply overhearing something about your religion / race and taking offence, and this line needs to be defined and we need to stop placating all these sensitive people.

The world, it seems, is full of people who are always looking for new and exciting ways of being offended.

[SilverVH]

I was at work one day (current workplace, few years ago) and Stacey* asked me if I was dating Jane*, a fellow employee. I said "Nah, she wants my bits!" in a joking manner, as we were good friends, and it ended up getting back to Jane* as Stacey* had been spreading a rumor that Jane* apparently wanted my d-ck. Well, Jane wasn't happy, and went and told her manager, who told my manager, who told Stacey's* manager, and Stacey* ended up having to get moved to another department all together. I just got told to be careful what I say to people at work as I could have been in the shit for saying she "wanted my bits", even if we were good friends.

*Names have been changed.

So at the end of it all, did Jane get your bits?

[azkwazere]

what did you say?

aZk.

[TrikkBen]

You didn't say "black board" around a "person of dark complexion" did you.......?

[TVR-190]

I know who you need.

[padrickz88]

Just remember, nothing says "job well done" like a slap on the arse!

[87RB30VL]

So at the end of it all, did Jane get your bits?

Haha, nah

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[Drawnnite]

just putting this out there for more or less discussion:
just remember there is a difference between a joke and harrasment.

i know at my work if everyone is laughing its a joke.
hell i get called all sorts of names but go meh and normally laugh anyway.
then again it all varies on the industrys and type of workplace you are in.

hope whatever you looking for you find the answer and get it sorted out

[Garth]

person a was working with myself, we were both working behind a service counter in a change room, there was person b behind the counter also.
when person a bent down to start looking at the p.a system i made what i thought would be a funny joke, "watch out, he likes to touch legs" while looking and smiling at person b.

both partys had a bit of a giggle, followed by a comment i said, opps, that was only slightly inapropriate, sorry about that. and we moved on.

person a then lodged a formal complaint about my comment calling it sexhual harrasment. which is now a investigation against me.

i guess i want to know if this is a form of harrasment, (even though i thought it was a funny joke at the time, realized it wasnt and appologized for it) or are they trying to make a example of me in this matter.