In Queensland, you can claim a workplace bullying compensation payout when your mental health is damaged by bullying behaviours at work. This detrimental conduct can substantially negatively impact employees’ mental health, contributing to depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts.
In fact, psychosocial health and safety and bullying statistics from Safe Work Australia show that there has been a rising incidence of work-related mental stress claims in recent years. This trend is likely due to increased work pressures, legislative changes, and a greater willingness to report and claim bullying compensation.
Compensation Lawyers for Workplace Bullying
Please don’t suffer in silence; take control, empower yourself, and fight for a safe and respectful working environment with the support of our workplace bullying compensation lawyers. Rely on Splatt Lawyer’s team of expert work injury lawyers for knowledgeable legal advice on successful bullying claims.
Our comprehensive guide to workplace bullying QLD explores the steps you take to claim compensation, ensuring your voice is heard and your rights are protected.
What is my claim worth?
Defining Workplace Bullying
Workplace bullying is a form of repeated and undesirable behaviour that creates a health and safety risk. This unwelcome conduct can take various forms, like written or verbal abuse, humiliation, manipulation, or even physical aggression.
When bullied at work in Australia, the Fair Work Act 2009, s.789FD protects your legal rights, with physical assault considered more severe than psychological harm.
Furthermore, bullying can happen between coworkers, superiors, or subordinates, creating a hostile work environment that adversely impacts the employee’s health, safety and job performance. Due to the deteriorating workplace culture, impacted staff suffer mental health disorders with reduced productivity.
More about WorkCover psych injury claims >
What Are the Ways I Can Be Bullied at Work?
You can be bullied at work face to face, on social media, work chat platforms, by phone or email. Types of bullying include:
Abusive language
Unjustified criticism, yelling, humiliating or belittling comments, insults, and offensive language can be psychological abuse.
Spreading Rumours
Sharing false or negative information about an employee’s personal or professional life causes distress and damages their reputation.
Unreasonable Work Demands
Imposing excessive workloads, unrealistic deadlines, or consistently assigning tasks beyond an employee’s abilities can lead to stress and feelings of inadequacy.
Practical Jokes
Teasing, mocking, or playing pranks on staff creates an uncomfortable and hostile atmosphere, contributing to emotional distress.
It’s important to note that work-related bullying can involve supervisors, colleagues, or even contractors, with the effects being both physical and psychological, like stress, anxiety, depression, and physical health issues.
If you have experienced repeated incidents of the above behaviours, you could seek legal damages for bullying. Our skilled personal injury lawyers help you know your rights and achieve justice. For immediate support Call 1800 700 125. It’s free to know where you stand.
What is Not Bullying?
Bullying activity that occurs only once is not regarded as legally actionable, but escalated and recurrent incidents can trigger legal action.
Other situations not considered bullying include:
- A one-time incidence of physical violence or threat of violence
- Reasonable management action (see below)
- Discrimination and sexual harassment – covered by other legislation
- Work conflict: differences of opinion and disagreements are not bullying behaviour
Of course, one event of unreasonable behavior could be the start of a bullying campaign, so taking early action could avoid the need for workplace injury litigation.
Your Right to Claim Bullying Compensation
You could have the legal right to claim a workplace bullying compensation payout when undesirable behaviour causes you psychological injury or a mental illness, particularly when your employer fails to take reasonable steps to prevent harm.
In Queensland, the Work Health and Safety Act 2011 (Qld) protects your right to a safe and healthy workplace. When your boss fails their duty of care, various legal remedies exist, including a WorkCover claim, permanent impairment payout, and a common law claim.
More about bullying and harassment compensation >
Do I Have a Valid Claim?
Can I Claim Bullying Compensation?
To know if you can claim bullying compensation, consider the following:
- Has the bullying behaviour caused a new illness or physical injury?
- Has the unwanted behaviour worsened an existing condition?
- Is your medical disorder a direct outcome of workplace bullying?
- Have you been diagnosed with a psychological condition by a doctor?
- Do you currently see a psychologist for your mental illness?
When workplace bullying has caused a new or worsened work-related injury or illness, and a medical professional has diagnosed you, contact our lawyers for your free assessment. They will help you know your legal rights, including compensation entitlements. It’s free to know your rights – Call 1800 700 125
Taking Legal Action for Workplace Bullying
In Australia, you can take legal action when your employer has either:
1. Failed to take reasonable steps to stop the unwanted behaviour
2. Been ineffective in preventing the behaviour
Legal options for addressing workplace bullying include:
- Raising a formal complaint with human resources
- Lodging a Fair Work complaint
- Starting alternative dispute resolution processes like mediation or arbitration
- Pursuing a personal injury claim for bullying compensation and damages
By seeking legal representation, people suffering bullying at work can hold their employers accountable and potentially receive the justice and compensation they deserve.
Win Your Case With Splatt Lawyers?
Can You Sue for Workplace Bullying?
You can sue and seek compensation damages for workplace bullying in Australia when your employer fails to provide a safe and healthy workplace and you suffer harm. Once successful, an insurance company is generally liable to fund your lump-sum payout. In Queensland, this is usually WorkCover, the principal worker’s compensation insurer for most companies.
While it is possible to sue for workplace bullying, we recommend you consult with an experienced work injury claim lawyer to understand the merits of your case. Informed legal advice helps you know your rights and the steps to justice.
More about suing for bullying >
Steps to Take Before Suing for Workplace Bullying
Before suing for workplace bullying, following specific steps to build a strong case is essential.
- Document incidents with a record of dates, times, and details of each occurrence
- Collect supporting evidence like emails, text messages, and witness statements.
- Get professional help from a therapist or counsellor when you have suffered psychological or emotional harm. Doing this gives you personal support and evidence of bullying’s impact on your mental well-being.
- Report the bullying to your supervisor or Human Resources department. If applicable, please also document these discussions. Taking these steps will help establish a robust foundation for your workplace bullying case.
- Consult a personal injury lawyer who will help you know your suitable options for compensation for workplace bullying.
What is Reasonable Management Action?
Reasonable management action refers to measures taken by employers or managers when managing performance, such as:
- Helping employees improve their performance
- Taking steps to remedy poor performance or behaviour
Examples of reasonable management action by employers include:
- Starting a performance improvement plan
- Implementing disciplinary measures for misconduct
- Discussions about poor work performance
- Informing an employee that their behaviour is undesirable
- Requesting workers perform reasonable duties
- Taking steps to retain consistent work standards
Generally, the above must happen reasonably and fairly, with a valid business purpose; otherwise, it may be considered bullying.
Sometimes it’s challenging to know if you have a legitimate personal injury claim, so our bullying compensation lawyers will assess your case for free and let you know your rights. Call Now for fast support – 1800 700 125
What are the Elements of a Successful Bullying Claim?
A successful bullying claim relies on several key elements that prove your case and justify fair compensation.
First: the repeated nature of the behaviour
Workplace bullying involves persistent and ongoing mistreatment towards someone, not a one-off occurrence.
Second: it was unreasonable behaviour.
The worker’s conduct was beyond acceptable or reasonable in a work environment, including discriminatory treatment based on sexual orientation, gender identity and other considerations.
Furthermore: the bad conduct caused you an injury
To successfully claim bully compensation, you must have suffered an injury. Typically, victims have psychiatric conditions like PTSD, emotional trauma, stress, depression and anxiety that impact their work capacity.
Lastly: the claimant tried to resolve the issue
The claimant tried to resolve the issue
Generally, to win your case, you need to show you tried to resolve the issue internally by reporting the damaging behaviour to HR or higher management, in line with your employer’s bullying policies. Addressing the above elements will increase your chance of winning compensation for workplace bullying.
What is my claim worth?
How Much is a Workplace Bullying Compensation Payout?
The value of your workplace bullying compensation payout depends on your circumstances, including the injury severity and how it impacts your capacity to earn an income. Furthermore, the type of compensation claim will also influence how much you get in a lump sum payment.
WorkCover Claim
Once you have an approved claim under the Queensland WorkCover Scheme, you will receive weekly payments, which start at 85% of your regular earnings or the amount specified in your industrial award, whichever is greater. Furthermore, the longer you receive WorkCover benefits, the smaller this amount becomes, ceasing at five years or when you reach the maximum payable amount.
Permanent Impairment Payout
You can request a permanent impairment assessment when you are nearing the end of your Queensland worker’s compensation claim. If approved (the minimum is a 15% impairment rating), you will receive a lump sum settlement offer, calculated using the Queensland impairment rating payout table.
As of January 1, 2023, an injured Queensland worker is entitled to $ 3,612.73 for each 1% of the DPI score, with a maximum payable amount of $ 361,273.10
According to Safe Work Australia, the average compensation payment for a psychological injury claim is $ 23,600.
Common Law Claim Payout
Achieving a common law claim payout for workplace bullying can be a complex and lengthy process; however, it generally results in more significant damages. To succeed, you must prove your employer’s breach of duty or negligence was the cause of your harm.
According to Workcover Queensland’s published statistics, the average common law claim payout is approximately $168,000, with psychiatric injury values ranging between $100,000 and $200,000.
What Damages Can I Recover from a Successful Claim?
Damages from successful common law claims are typically higher than those using lump-sum permanent impairment ratings. In a common law case, various “heads of damages” are used to determine economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages cover financial losses incurred by the bullying, including loss of earnings, medical expenses, lost superannuation, treatment-related travel expenses and any other monetary damages.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages compensate for the emotional and psychological harm caused by the negative behaviour. These damages cover pain and suffering, emotional trauma, and loss of enjoyment of life.
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How Lawyers Help with Workplace Bullying Compensation Payouts
Navigating Queensland’s legal system is challenging when successfully claiming a workplace bullying compensation payout. This situation is especially true when you are a victim of bullying suffering mental anguish.
Generally, getting a lump sum compensation payout relies on the expertise and experience of your personal injury lawyer. Splatt Lawyer’s team of compensation lawyers have extensive experience helping bullied Queenslander workers:
- understand their legal rights
- level of compensation
- the type of claims and eligibility
- legal advice for achieving a winning injury damages claim.
Choosing our law firm for your case means accessing 100% no-win no, fee legal services. Meaning you pay when you win and zero if you lose. Hence, you have no financial risk for your personal injury payout. Please get in touch with us for your free case assessment at 1800 700 125.
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