From 1 April 2023, a new code of practice deals with work hazards arising from, or where: “the design or management of work, a work environment, plant at a workplace, or workplace interactions and behaviours and may cause a psychological harm, whether or not the hazard may also cause physical harm”.
In Queensland, an approved code of practice is a practical guide to achieving the standards of health, safety and welfare required under the WHS Act and the Work Health and Safety Regulation 2011 (WHS Regulation). Under section 26A of the WHS Act, a person conducting a business or undertaking (PCBU) must comply with an approved code of practice or an equivalent approach that meets the standard of the code.
The new code does not provide any particularly new obligations on employers already liable for risks or responding to claims including bullying and sexual harasment. The new code provides a general, broad framework for understanding, preventing and managing what can otherwise go unnoticed until it is too late and complex investigation is required.
There is a lot to consider for proactive employers managing the people and stress issues in a modern workplace. Hazards that can cause risk to a person’s psychological health includes:
- high or low job demands
- poor workplace support
- low role clarity
- poor organisational change management
- poor environmental conditions
- traumatic work or work related events
- bullying and harassment
- sexual harassment.
Proactive assessment of the risk of harm via a risk management process is an important step that an Employer/PCBU can take. The standard risk management involves:
- Identification of psychosocial hazards
- Assessment of the risk associated with each psychosocial hazard
- Control of the risks of psychosocial hazards:
- elimination of the risk/s and what can be done; and/or
- how to minimise the risk/s if they cannot be eliminated
4. Maintaining and reviewing the control measures to ensure the risk remains controlled, and no new risks arise.
For the new Code of Practice and more information, go to:
https://www.worksafe.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0025/104857/managing-the-risk-of-psychosocial-hazards-at-work-code-of-practice.pdf
WorkSafe will support the implementation of the new Code in 2023 followed by some (hopefully rare) investigation and enforcement activities after that (e.g. 2024).
Contact Daryl if you need leadership or team training in the 4 stages of psychological safety model. Here is some information about the model and the culture diagnostic from Leader Factor. Daryl is a Leader Factor Certified Coach.
https://www.leaderfactor.com/resource-guides