Psychosocial Hazards (including bullying) – Service Standards
This explains what you can expect from us, and what we expect from you when you raise a psychosocial hazard issue with us.
Psychosocial hazards include:
- role overload, exposure to traumatic events, lack of role clarity, poor support, inadequate reward and recognition, poor procedural justice, poor change consultation, and
- harmful workplace behaviour e.g. bullying which is repeated and unreasonable behaviour, harassment and sexual harassment.
What we can do
We can only act on situations that fall within the scope of the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (WHS Act) and the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2017.
This includes verifying an employer or business (or other PCBU) is:
- consulting with workers about work health and safety
- providing and maintaining a work environment that is without risks to health and safety
- providing and maintaining safe systems of work
- monitoring the health and safety of workers and the conditions at the workplace, to ensure that work-related illnesses and injuries are prevented
- providing appropriate information, instruction, training or supervision to workers and others at the workplace, to allow work to be carried out safely
- implementing control measures to eliminate psychosocial risks so far as is reasonably practicable
- if it is not reasonably practicable to eliminate psychosocial risks — to minimise the risks so far as is reasonably practicable.
What we cannot do
There are some things we cannot do because it falls outside the scope of the WHS Act.These include:
- mediate between the workplace parties involved
- provide legal advice
- provide counselling
- order the employer or business (or other PCBU) to discipline a person alleged to be the source of harmful workplace behaviour, or to terminate their employment
- take sides
- issue an order to stop bullying behaviour or stop sexual harassment - the Fair Work Commission have powers to issue these orders if required.
What we expect from you
We can provide you with a better service if you:
- check that what is occurring to you is a psychosocial hazard/harmful workplace behaviour (refer to NSW Code of Practice: Managing Psychosocial Hazards at Work - Table 1)
- try to resolve it in your workplace by:
- talking to someone about what you are experiencing and what you can do about it, e.g. your supervisor, manager, health and safety representative (HSR) or union representative
- checking if your workplace has internal workplace reporting procedures to give your employer an opportunity to respond
- reporting the hazard as early as possible using workplace reporting procedures and/or to your supervisor, manager, HSR or union representative
- check that we are the right agency to approach for your situation (refer to know who to contact for harmful workplace behaviour such as bullying or sexual harassment)
- read 'what you can expect from us', below
- complete and submit the workplace psychosocial hazards (including bullying) request for service form if you want to raise the issue with us.
- Provide specific examples, that can be supported by evidence that you think is significant in contributing to your situation. When describing the evidence available it is important to include specific behaviours, dates, location and witnesses and items such as e.g. diary entries, emails, text messages, work health and safety notifications and grievances.
If your workplace has not been made aware of, or had an opportunity to respond to the hazards, this may limit the action SafeWork NSW can take.
Web browsers must be updated to the latest version to ensure online forms are submitted without error. You can also request a hard copy form by calling 13 10 50.
What you can expect from us
- we may contact you for more information.
- we will decide on the most appropriate action by assessing the information you provide and the circumstances of your request, and by considering our compliance policy and prosecution guidelines
- we will contact the workplace to which the issue relates (or the place from which the relevant person generally conducts their business or undertaking) by one of the following methods:
- letter
- phone call
- visit by an inspector
- if you have made a request for your identity to remain confidential, we will take care to not disclose any information that may identify you. However, it is possible that the workplace parties will make assumptions about who has raised the issue with us
- if you choose to remain anonymous this will limit SafeWork NSW’s ability to address the specific nature of your complaint and you will not receive feedback on any action taken by SafeWork NSW
- we will be transparent with the workplace about why contact is being made and what their obligations are under the WHS Act. If a visit is undertaken, the inspector will make enquiries to:
- assess the extent of compliance by the workplace duty holders with their work health and safety obligations in relation to the alleged psychosocial hazards/harmful workplace behaviour
- support compliance with legislation
- our primary purpose is to assess the extent of compliance with WHS laws and ensure compliance, not to support a person's version of events over another or examine a potential breach of a code of conduct (although this may occur whilst we are making our enquiries).
- within 10 working days from receipt of your request, we will respond to your request which may include contacting you and/or the workplace.
- we will keep you informed of progress, and when finalised, will provide you with the outcome, the reason for the decision and any actions taken.
- we will ensure that our decisions and actions are reasonable, fair and appropriate to the circumstances, based on consideration of all relevant legislation, policies and procedures.
- we take unreasonable behaviour seriously. The Customer Service Standard outlines our standards of service. We do not view abuse, threats, intimidation or harassment of our staff by customers as part of their job. If your behaviour is unacceptable, we may set limits or conditions on your contact with us and provide you with a warning. If your unacceptable behaviour continues, we may cease all direct contact with you.
- we may not be in a position to continue to respond to issues that have already been actioned by us. We may stop responding to you if we have already investigated and responded to your issues. If you have been provided with an opportunity to express your concerns, have been treated fairly, given reasons for decisions made and a reasonable explanation as to why your request can go no further, the matter will be closed. Any further correspondence from you about matters already dealt with will be noted, and no further action will be taken.