Bosses ‘Liable” for Employees’ Behaviour

By Crown Content

Employers may be vicariously liable for the inappropriate behaviour of their employees if they do not take "all reasonable" preventative steps

, said Bob Cook from Clayton Utz. His comments follow a Qld Anti-Discrimination Tribunal decision fining Watkins Steel for failing to prevent two of its employees from harassing a co-worker.

The two perpetrators were found to be personally liable, the company was found to be vicariously liable. Cook said that "had the employer taken relatively simple steps to ensure that harassment was not taking place in its workplace, then the two perpetrators may well have been found solely liable for their actions."

Andrew Farr from Australian Business Lawyers also spoke on the issue following the release of a survey by Healthworks that revealed harassment and discrimination as the biggest problems associated with employees involved in workplace fraternisation and dating. Guidelines should be developed by employers as part of their equal opportunity policies, he said.

(Crown Content Occupational Health and Safety Bulletin, vol. 12, no 273, 26 September 2003)