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Workplace Bullying

Workplace bullying is a serious issue for both employers and employees.

Our employment lawyers provide legal advice on workplace bullying issues. We can help companies defend claims of bullying behaviour and workers that experience bullying in the workplace. Our team also help clients to investigate and manage complaints and provide advice on procedure.

Workplace bullying can take many different forms, including verbal abuse, invasive comments, physical and sexual harassment, intimidation and discrimination. It can happen between co-workers or between employees, managers, contractors and clients. It is important to seek legal advice quickly because of the impact it can have on the workplace and staff.

Contact our legal team for a confidential discussion and find out how we can help for a fixed fee.

Contact us for a free consultation

Workplace bullying Complaints

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Making Workplace Bullying Complaints

Our employment attorneys work with clients to manage workplace bullying complaints.

It is important for employers to carefully manage workplace complaints in a way that complies with law.

Where allegations of bullying are made against management, we can advise whether the conduct complained of is reasonable management action.

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Representing Employees Who Have Received a Complaint

Our team of experienced workplace lawyers can help if you have had a workplace bullying complaint made against you.

Not all allegations of bullying meet the legal test. Only repetitive behaviour that meets the legal definition of workplace bullying can result in a finding of bullying. Unwelcome conduct that is not repeated or disciplinary action is not bullying.

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Gathering Evidence

Our team of workplace lawyers are skilled at gathering relevant and reliant evidence.

Whether you are making or responding to a bullying complaint, it is critical to gather evidence. This information is key to proving your case.

Our lawyers take statements, review written and visual data (including CCTV) to support investigation into bullying complaints.

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Investigating Claims of Bullying Behaviour

Workplace investigations into bullying behaviour need to be handled with care.

Employers that receive complaints must take swift action to address the complaint. Our skilled employment attorneys investigate claims of repeated and unreasonable behaviour in a way that protects our employer clients..

Our team can also make recommendations on managing confidentiality.

Managing Workplace Bullying Complaints

If you are experiencing workplace bullying

If you are experiencing workplace bullying, it is important to take action to protect your legal rights and well-being. The law in Australia (including the Fair Work Act) provides protection against workplace bullying.

While reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable way is not bullying, there are many bullying behaviours that are. These include sexual harassment, mind games, communicating offensive material, asking for sexual favours or requiring a worker to carry out meaningless tasks.

Prosper Law will work closely with you to develop a confidential plan. This may include submitting a formal complaint to your employer or taking the matter to the Fair Work Commission.

Investigating claims of bullying behaviour

An employer has a duty of care towards their workers. Workplace health and safety laws also place an obligation on businesses to maintain a safe workplace.

If you are an employer, you need to:

  • properly investigate claims of workplace bullying
  • assess the impact of workplace bullying on your workplace, including lost productivity
  • take steps to proactively reduce the risk of bullying at work
  • demonstrate support for workers that may have been bullied at work

What our clients say

Holly Teague
Holly Teague
2023-09-11
Big Thank you to Krystal and Prosper Law for expediting my employment contract and getting it back to me within 48 hours. Would definitely recommend if you are looking for an employment lawyer.
Larissa Rogers
Larissa Rogers
2023-09-09
I came across Prosper Law while searching for an Employment Lawyer for a recent dispute. I had the pleasure of working with both Krystal and Farrah and I am extremely grateful for their attention to detail and guidance throughout my matter.
Yatin Kulkarni
Yatin Kulkarni
2023-08-29
Absolutely fantastic work by Carlyn Sicat and Farrah Motley by turning around the review of my Contract within 24 hours. Crystal clear recommendations and therefore didn't need any follow up. Highly recommended recommend them if you need an employment lawyer!
Connor Summers
Connor Summers
2023-08-09
Our business needed urgent legal advice for several employment law matters. Prosper Law’s employment contract lawyers were quick to respond, offered a fixed fee price for their legal services and were able to achieve a great result for our business. For any employers looking for a quality employment law firm, we highly recommend the team at Prosper Law.
Jane Gentle
Jane Gentle
2023-08-02
If you are looking to hire a legal counsel on retainer, I highly recommend the Prosper Law legal team. Having engaged with Prosper at work over the past 5 months, I have found them to be great in-house lawyers and who know their stuff when it comes to contract reviews, employment law advice and marketing and consumer law… and they’re reasonably priced
Liam Devonshire
Liam Devonshire
2023-07-25
I needed a business sale lawyer to help me sell my business on short notice. They drafted a business sale agreement for me. Courtney was quick to reply, explained the process to me and was great to deal with. If anyone is after a good M&A lawyer, definitely reach out to Prosper Law.
Bec
Bec
2023-07-12
I needed the advice of a contract lawyer based in Sydney quickly for a difficult client contract. Farrah responded to my query very quickly and efficiently and helped me resolve the liability issue with the client in a very short time. I highly recommend her efficient and thorough service.
Chris Pearson
Chris Pearson
2023-07-04
I contacted Prosper Law because I needed a contract lawyer in Brisbane for an issue with a building contract. Farrah and Micaela are experienced contract lawyers and were polite, professional, and provided my advice quickly. They provided me with a fixed fee quote with no hidden costs for the legal work and spoke to the QBCC on my behalf. Thank you to the Prosper Law team for giving me detailed advice that was good value and very helpful!!! Highly recommended and will be using them in the future for all my legal needs.
CR T
CR T
2023-05-25
Highly recommended. They offered me reliable and useful legal advice free of charge. Thank you once again, Michael, for your service.
Vijesh cj
Vijesh cj
2023-05-22
I approached Farrah with a query regarding my employment contract. She was patient in her dealings and took the time to read the contract fully and understand my side of the story before giving her legal advice. I am happy with my overall experience of working with Farrah.

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Workplace Bullying Law FAQs

I am an employer who wants to manage the process, how can your services help?

When conducting a workplace investigation, it is essential to follow the correct procedures and ensure that all parties are treated fairly and with respect. Failure to do so can result in legal action and damage to your business’s reputation. A poorly conducted procedure can also impact an employer’s relationship with its workforce.

We can provide you with legal advice on the correct procedures for conducting a workplace investigation. We assist in developing an investigation plan that meets your business needs and goals.

We can also assist you with conducting witness interviews, gathering evidence, and analysing the facts of the case. We can assist you to ensure your investigation is thorough, impartial, and compliant with all relevant laws and regulations.

What is the workplace investigation process your investigators follow?

Our investigations will generally follow the best practice steps set out below:

Organisation receives a complaint

An employer receives a complaint such as workplace bullying and other workplace complaints. An employer has a duty to act on the complaint including by investigating workplace complaints.

Strategy and scoping

Our lawyers work with clients to identify the most cost-effective way to approach the investigation and narrow in on which allegations will be investigated. Serious allegations will be given priority, such as claims of sexual harassment or serious bullying.

It may also be necessary to stand down workers that are the subject of a complaint or temporarily move them to another location within the business.

Gather documents and information

We interview witnesses and workers, and gather correspondence, CCTV and other relevant evidence. We will also need a copy of the employment contract and any relevant policies and procedures.

Evidence may be obtained from the organisation, third parties, staff members or senior management.

Our workplace investigators analyse the information

Our experienced lawyers will review and analyse the evidence and carry out further fact-finding tasks (where necessary).

It is important to consider whether the evidence is reliable or whether additional information may be needed.

Opportunity to respond and fair processes

We will provide relevant parties with the opportunity to respond to issues identified during the investigation process.

A procedurally fair procedure also requires that decisions are made by people who are independent to issue. This is a key reason why it is helpful to engage our legal firm to manage the matter.

Professional workplace reports

Subject to the strategy and scoping approach, we will make findings of fact, comment on breaches of workplace legislation, policies or procedures and provide an investigation report.

The amount of detail the report goes into will depend on the nature of the issue, the number of people involved, the amount of supporting information and other factors.

Do you help employees who are being investigated by their employer?

If you are an employee who has been asked to respond to allegations or participate in a workplace investigation, you may need a workplace lawyer. Our team are here to help.

We provide supportive, cost-effective legal representation for employees. We can attend meetings as a support person, assist you in responding to allegations or questions, and provide strategies to protect your rights. We understand that this can be stressful. We will strive to support you and reduce the stress of the investigation process.

We are committed to providing its clients with the highest level of legal service and representation. We will work with you to develop a legal strategy that meets your business requirements. Contact us today for a fixed fee quote for workplace investigation and legal services.

What exceptional circumstances are taken into account if the 21 day time limit is not met?

The Fair Work Commission does not often grant extensions to the 21 day time limit on unfair dismissal applications. It is important for applications to be submitted on time (even if supporting information is provided later).

An extension may be granted if a worker suffers a serious illness, is hospitalised for that period, or some other compelling and genuinely unavoidable circumstance that meant the application was not lodged on time.