While the Fair Work Commission's stop orders for bullying do not contemplate compensation, compensation may be awarded for personal injury, breach of contract and breach of statutory duty at common law when bullying is found to have occurred.

All employees are different, with each person comprising different personality traits, strengths, vulnerabilities and backgrounds. What employees have in common, however, is that employers throughout Australia have a legal duty to take reasonable care for their safety.

Consequently, even where the behaviour complained of is perceived as low-level, or even trivial by a manager, how employers respond to complaints is crucial to not only resolution of the matter within the business but also managing legal risk, including the risk of workers' compensation claims.

As a recent decision by the Supreme Court of Queensland decision in Keegan v Sussan Corporation (Aust) Pty Ltd [2014] QSC 64 demonstrates, failing to appropriately deal with a bullying complaint can be costly.

Read the full article from Clayton Utz...