SWA: New Guidance on Preventing Online Abuse in the Workplace
Safe Work Australia has developed new fact sheets in conjunction with eSafety to help employers and employees prevent and manage online abuse.
Safe Work Australia has developed new fact sheets that provide practical steps for employers and employees to prevent online abuse in the workplace.
Developed in conjunction with eSafety, the fact sheets support workers and persons conducting a business or undertaking (PCBUs), such as employers, in preventing online abuse at work.
Online abuse is behaviour that uses technology to threaten, intimidate, bully, harass or humiliate someone. It can take place on social media, online chat, and messaging services, by telephone (calls and text messages), email, or any other technology used at the workplace.
The abuse at work may come from customers, clients or members of the public, but it can also happen between workers, supervisors and managers. It may also happen away from the workplace such as when a worker is working from home.
Work health and safety laws require PCBUs to manage the health and safety risks of workers and others, which includes managing the risks of online abuse while working.
Workplaces should have:
- a safe physical and online working environment.
- safe work systems and procedures to prevent and respond to behaviours such as violence, aggression, bullying, and sexual harassment online.
- a workplace policy which sets out how the workplace will prevent and respond to these behaviours, including acceptable standards of behaviour for all workers, customers, and clients.
- information, training and supervision, such as what to do if online abuse happens, how to report it and how workers can access support services.
Fact sheets:
