In J Hutchison Pty Ltd v Glavcom Pty Ltd [2016] NSWSC 126, the New South Wales Supreme Court held that a provision requiring the submission of a ‘Subcontractor Statement’ as a pre-requisite to accrual of the reference date was void under section 34 of the SOP Act, being an attempt to contract out of that Act. Whilst this is a cautionary tale, it should be noted that this particular case dealt with circumstances where a reference date had not arisen as the construction contract purported to provide that, until certain conditions were fulfilled, no reference date would arise. Mr Justice Ball’s judgment can be found here.
Australian builder fined $12,500 for workplace bullying A Geelong builder who repeatedly bullied his teenage apprentice over a two-year period was recently convicted and fined $12,500 in the Geelong Magistrates’ Court. Wayne Allan Dennert, of Bell Post Hill, pleaded guilty to failing to provide a safe system of work and the necessary information, instruction, training and supervision to employees in relation to workplace bullying. The court heard that during Dennert not only encouraged employees to participate in bullying behaviour against the teenager, but actively participated. Some of the physical incidents included: • A live mouse being put down the back of his shirt by an employee. • Being spat on by an employee. • Having ‘Liquid Nails’ squirted in his hair by an employee. • Dennert taking his mobile phone and posting an inappropriate sexual comment on his female friend’s profile page. • Dennert holding a rag doused in methylated spirits over his mouth. • Dennert holding hot drill saw bits and baton screws to his bare skin. • Dennert scraping sandpaper across his face. • Dennert grabbing him from behind and pinning his arms while another employee painted a strip of paint across his face. The court also heard Dennert regularly called him derogatory names and questioned him about his sex life. In a victim impact statement read to the court, the apprentice said that he continues to suffer from anxiety, depression, nightmares and insomnia caused by the bullying. But it was the emotional trauma that was the hardest to bear. He told the court “[He] would rather be burnt, bruised, assaulted, drenched in glue, water, paint, weeks’ old coffee and spat on all over again than to relive a week of the psychological torment I endured.” Workplace bullying is also recognised as a significant workplace hazard in New Zealand. Not only does it affect people physically and mentally, it can disrupt workplaces and reduce productivity. Employers who don’t deal with it risk breaching legislation, such as the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015, the Employment Relations Act 2000 and the Human Rights Act 1993. Worksafe New Zealand has prepared guidelines which focus on both employees and employers responding early before a situation gets out of hand and focusing first of all on workplace-based solutions.