Legal Advice for Compensation Insurance Claims & TPD Payouts

Workers Compensation Claim Payouts for Bullying

QLD workplace bullying compensation payouts for psychological injury range between $100,000 and $200,000 depending on severity. Learn how it works and how to have a successful claim.
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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 advice from our workplace bullying compensation lawyers. Contact Splatt Lawyer’s team of 100% no win no fee work injury lawyers for free legal advice regarding bullying claims. Call Now: 1800 700 125

Our comprehensive guide to workplace bullying QLD explores the steps you take to claim compensation, ensuring your rights are protected.

What is my claim worth?

What is Considered Bullying in the Workplace?

Workplace bullying occurs when repeated and undesirable behaviour 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 have the right to seek advice regarding legal damages for bullying. Our compensation lawyers explain your options and a path to justice. For 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 behaviour 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:

  1. A WorkCover claim under the workers’ compensation scheme
  2. Mental illness permanent impairment payout
  3. Psychological injury common law claim

More about bullying and harassment compensation >

Do I Have a Valid Claim?

Can I Make a Workers’ Compensation Claim for Bullying?

In Queensland, any work-related physical or psychological harm can be eligible for worker’s compensation claims, including workplace bullying and harassment. To know if you can claim bullying compensation, consider the following:

  1. Has the bullying behaviour caused a new illness or physical injury?
  2. Has the unwanted behaviour worsened an existing condition?
  3. Is your medical disorder a direct outcome of workplace bullying?
  4. Have you been diagnosed with a psychological condition by a doctor?
  5. 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 you have a diagnosis from a medical professional, contact our lawyers for a free case assessment. They will help you know your legal rights and 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 claim for bullying compensation and damages

By seeking legal representation, people suffering bullying at work can hold their employers accountable and potentially receive justice and restitution.

Get Started With Splatt Lawyers

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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 approved, 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.

To learn if you can sue for workplace bullying, please consult a 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 >

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Steps to Take Before Suing for Workplace Bullying

Before suing for workplace bullying, following specific steps to build a strong case is essential.

  1. Document incidents with a record of dates, times, and details of each occurrence
  2. Collect supporting evidence like emails, text messages, and witness statements.
  3. 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.
  4. Report the bullying to your supervisor, health and safety representative 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.
  5. Consult a compensation lawyer who will explain your eligibility for workplace bullying compensation.

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.

Knowing if you can claim compensation is often challenging, so our bullying compensation lawyers will advise you on your legal rights for free. Call Now for support: 1800 700 125

What are the Elements of Successful Bullying Workers’ Compensation Claims?

A successful bullying workers’ compensation 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.

Generally, to win your case, you must show that you tried to resolve the issue internally by reporting the damaging behaviour to a health and safety representative, human resources department, or higher management.

What is my claim worth?

How Much is a Workplace Bullying Compensation Payout?

The value of workplace bullying compensation payouts depends on the circumstances, including 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.

More about WorkCover claims >

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.

More about permanent impairment claims >

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.

More about common law claims >

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” 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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Legal Advice for Bullying Workers’ Compensation Claims

Queensland’s legal system makes it challenging to make a successful claim for workplace bullying compensation payout. However, you have the right to seek legal advice, including your eligibility for a lump sum compensation payout.

Splatt Lawyer’s team of workers’ compensation lawyers helps bullied Queensland workers:

  • Understand their legal rights
  • Their level of compensation
  • Claim eligibility
  • And legal advice for an injury damages claim for employer negligence.

All our bullying legal services come with 100% no-win, no-fee legal funding. You pay when you win and zero if you lose, so you have no financial risk for your case. Please get in touch with us for free legal advice at 1800 700 125.

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