Understanding psychosocial hazards and your legal duties
Guidance for employers on psychosocial hazards in the working environment. This includes how they can lead to harm, and who has responsibilities to manage the risks under OHS and other laws.
What is a psychosocial hazard?
A psychosocial hazard is anything in the working environment that could cause an employee to have a negative psychological response. This response can lead to psychological or physical harm, or both.
Some people might describe a negative psychological response as ‘stress’ or ‘feeling stressed’. Stress itself is not a psychological injury. But stress may lead to psychological or physical harm, or both, if it is:
- frequent
- prolonged
- severe.
Types of psychological harm include:
- adjustment disorder
- anxiety
- depression
- acute stress disorder
- post-traumatic stress disorder.
Types of physical harm include:
- musculoskeletal injuries
- chronic disease
- fatigue-related injuries.
Types of psychosocial hazards
Example psychosocial hazards may include:
- aggression or violence
- bullying
- sexual harassment
- gendered violence
- exposure to traumatic events or content
- high job demands
- low job control
- low job demands
- low role clarity
- low recognition and reward
- poor environmental conditions
- poor organisational change management
- poor organisational justice
- poor support
- poor workplace relationships
- remote or isolated work.
Psychosocial hazards come about from:
- work design
- systems of work
- management of work
- carrying out of the work
- personal or work-related interactions.
Psychosocial hazards may interact or combine to create new or higher risks. When managing psychosocial risks, employers should consider all the psychosocial hazards employees may be exposed to.
Psychosocial hazards under OHS laws
Occupational health and safety involves protecting the health, safety and welfare of employees and other people. It’s commonly called OHS.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (OHS Act) is a Victorian law that helps keep people healthy and safe at work. This includes employees and other people in the workplace. It does this by setting rules to identify hazards and control risks.
The definition of ‘health’ under the OHS Act includes ‘psychological health’. This means that OHS obligations for the health of employees extends to their psychological health.
The Occupational Health and Safety Regulations 2017 are another set of laws. Known as the OHS Regulations, they build on the OHS Act. They set out how to fulfil duties, obligations and processes that support the OHS Act.
People with OHS responsibilities
Under Part 3 of the OHS Act, employers, self-employed people, people with management or control of a workplace and employees have duties. They must:
- Eliminate risks to health and safety so far as is reasonably practicable. In other words, do everything that a reasonable person in that situation would do to control risks from the working environment.
- Reduce the risk if it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate it. This means doing everything that is reasonably practicable to reduce the risks.
- Employers
Employers also have a range of specific duties. For example, they must:
- Provide and maintain a working environment that is safe and without risks to the health of their employees. They must do this so far as is reasonably practicable.
- Provide or maintain safe systems of work for their employees. They must do this so far as is reasonably practicable.
- Provide adequate facilities for welfare of employees at any workplace the employer manages or controls. They must do this so far as is reasonably practicable.
- Give employees the information, instruction, training or supervision necessary to do their job safely and without risks to health.
- Consult with employees and any health and safety representatives (HSRs) about health and safety issues that do, or may, directly affect them. Consultation must occur when:
- identifying or assessing hazards or risks in the workplace
- deciding on measures to prevent and manage risks at the workplace
- deciding about the adequacy of facilities for employees’ welfare
- deciding on procedures to resolve health or safety issues
- deciding on procedures to monitor employee health and the conditions at the workplace
- providing information and training
- proposing changes that may affect the health and safety of employees.
- So far as is reasonably practicable, ensure that people other than employees are not exposed to risks to their health or safety. This includes:
- customers
- patients
- students
- families
- volunteers
- members of the community.
Employees include labour hire workers. Employees may also include independent contractors and any employees of the independent contractor.
- Self-employed people
Self-employed people must ensure that their business or work does not create any health and safety risks for other people. They must do this so far as is reasonably practicable.
- People with management or control of a workplace
People with management or control of a workplace must ensure that the workplace, including the means of entering and leaving it, is safe. They must do this so far as is reasonably practicable.
Those with management or control are not always employers or employees. They may include:
- The owner of a building.
- People appointed to a position. For example, judicial officers or tribunal members who work with associates and other court staff in chambers. They may have a level of management and control over that workplace and those court employees.
- Members of a board or management committee of an organisation.
- Mayors or councillors working with council employees.
- Employees
Employees must take reasonable care of:
- their own health and safety in the workplace
- the health and safety of others who may be affected by what they do or don’t do.
Employees must also cooperate with their employer on any action taken under the OHS Act.
Criminal offences
Some behaviours connected to psychosocial hazards may also be a criminal offence. They include:
- stalking
- obscene or threatening communications – for example:
- phone calls
- letters
- emails
- text messages
- posts on social networking or other websites
- threatened or actual physical assault
- threatened or actual sexual assault or rape.
If the employee wishes, employers should refer these acts to police or support employees to do so. Employers should also:
- review workplace OHS risk controls to prevent similar incidents happening again
- investigate and respond appropriately if it is reported.
If an employer suspects an employee under 18 is the target of sexual behaviour, they should consider whether to contact Child Protection or Victoria Police. Employers and employees may also have mandatory reporting obligations.
Other relevant laws
Other state and federal laws also cover psychosocial hazards in the working environment.
Equal Opportunity Act
The Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (EO Act) aims to make public life free from discrimination, sexual harassment and victimisation as much as possible. The EO Act gives functions and powers to the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission (VEOHRC).
The EO Act puts a positive duty on employers and others to:
- not engage in discrimination, victimisation or sexual harassment
- take reasonable steps to eliminate these behaviours.
‘Positive duty’ means that employers must take positive action to prevent these behaviours in the working environment. This is regardless of whether someone has made a complaint.
An individual who discriminates against, victimises or sexually harasses another person at work can be held legally responsible for their behaviour.
Employers can also be held legally responsible if their employees, volunteers or contractors do this either:
- at work
- in connection with their employment or contract.
This is known as vicarious liability.
Fair Work Act
The Fair Work Act 2009 and the Fair Work Regulations 2009 are federal laws administered by the Fair Work Commission. They govern the employee and employer relationship in Australia. They:
- provide a safety net of minimum entitlements
- enable flexible working arrangements
- provide fairness at work
- give employees the right to be free from unlawful discrimination.
Sex Discrimination Act
The Sex Discrimination Act 1984 is a federal law administered by the Australian Human Rights Commission. Organisations and business have a positive duty to eliminate, as far as possible, the following unlawful behaviour from occurring:
- workplace sexual harassment, sex discrimination and sex-based harassment
- conduct that amounts to subjecting a person to a hostile workplace environment on the grounds of sex
- certain acts of victimisation.
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