Food manufacturer fined $50K for frankfurt failsafe failure
22 February, 2012George Weston Foods - one of Australia’s largest food processors - was convicted and fined $50,000 at the Castlemaine Magistrates’ Court on 17 February after pleading guilty to one count of failing to provide a safe plant, after a worker’s hand was crushed after being caught in a machine.
Industrial relations in 2012
13 February, 2012 by Paul Burns and Rohan Doyle*2012 is shaping up to be a very big year in industrial relations. Employers are waiting in anticipation for a number of developments which will no doubt present various opportunities and challenges for their businesses. This article looks at the top seven developments to watch out for in 2012.
Fall leaves worker in a wheelchair and small business fined
07 February, 2012A magistrate has given a small building company six years to pay a fine imposed on it after a worker became a paraplegic as a result of a four-metre fall.
College fined after tree collapse
01 February, 2012A private college has been convicted and fined in the Industrial Court after three people were injured by a falling tree while attending a junior school sports day in 2009.
Timber company fined after worker injured by unguarded machinery
25 January, 2012A South Eastern timber processing company has been fined more than $26,000 by the Industrial Court after an employee was injured by unguarded machinery.
Geelong business fined over workplace incident
24 January, 2012A Geelong business has been convicted and fined $6000 over an incident that left a chef with a broken arm after her sleeve became caught in an unguarded machine.
New WHS laws will not apply to every volunteering activity or organisation - Safe Work Australia
19 January, 2012The new WHS laws will not apply to every volunteering activity or organisation. They apply if a volunteer organisation employs staff as well as volunteers to carry out work for the organisation.
Business owners fined $32,500 over lack of fall injury prevention system
17 January, 2012The owners of a rigging and construction business have been fined for failing to provide workers with a fall injury prevention system on a construction site.
WorkSafe investigating worker death at Kapunda
20 December, 2011In the wake of a worker’s death at Kapunda, SafeWork SA is urging workers in farm-related industries to take extreme care around machinery and vehicles as activity continues during the current harvest and into next year’s grape vintage.
Holiday work injury sees abattoir fined
13 December, 2011Lobethal Abattoirs , an Adelaide Hills-based meat processor, has been convicted and fined over an incident in which a teenager was injured during holiday work.
Recommendations from the inquiry into sham contracting
30 November, 2011Sham contracting occurs when an employer attempts to disguise an employment relationship as an independent contracting relationship, to avoid obligatory rates of pay and other entitlements, and gain an unfair competitive advantage.
A case of mistaken redundancy payment
16 November, 2011 by Alison Baker, Karl Rozenbergs and Mark Dunphy, Hall & WillcoxA recent case reminds employers of the importance of reviewing employees’ contracts, enterprise agreements and any applicable modern awards to assess an employee’s entitlement to any severance payments, including notice and redundancy.
Third safety prosecution in four years for Colac timber-processing company
16 November, 2011Colac-based AKD Softwoods, which has received more than 100 safety improvement notices over less than a decade, has been convicted and fined $70,000 for failing to comply with a safety improvement notice and having an unguarded machine which injured a worker.
Geelong business convicted and fined $160,000
04 November, 2011A Geelong-based manufacturer of prefabricated house frames has pleaded guilty to three charges of failing to provide a safe workplace and failing to provide training and supervision to employees.
Engineering company fined after fumes overcome worker in confined space
02 November, 2011A heavy engineering company has been convicted and fined more than $26,000 following an incident in which a worker was overcome by fumes while working in a confined space.
