Can an employee sustain a workplace injury in an online meeting? According to a recent case the answer is yes. This case, an employee that was “called out” by management in an online Teams meeting has been found to be ‘injured’ by the treatment, despite management arguing it was part of performance management.
Case Recap
In this case an employee sought workers compensation for medical expenses arising from a psychological injury caused by bullying and poor management, after the employee was berated for poor performance in a group Teams meeting 4 months into his employment.
In November 2022 the employee took a position asa National Partnership Manager. His onboarding was complicated by the fact that the previous holder of the role had deleted 6 months worth of work and data, leading to a stressful start to the role, which was complicated by his supervisor going on leave shortly after he started leaving him with no guidance on role tasks, KPIs or goals.
In an online Teams group meeting in April 2023 the supervisor became aggressive and accused the employee, in front of colleagues, of having a problem understanding the tasks that were set for him.
In another online Teams group meeting two weeks later the supervisor interrupted the employees presentation to insist they discuss his performance. The supervisor asked the employee how he thought he was going. The employee responded that he thought he was doing well. The supervisor responded with outrage that the employee would think they were doing well when the supervisor could see they were not. The interaction left the employee shaking and unable to work for days.
In May 2023 the employee had a “breakdown” when the supervisor rescheduled a meeting, bringing it significantly forward, that he had not finished preparing for.
In response the business argued that there was no injury because the actions were part of reasonable performance management.
In assessing the claim Member Burge outlined that he had “no difficulty” in accepting that the supervisors conduct was “aggressive, deprecating and inappropriate” and that this “contributed to his injury”.
Burge noted that he was not convinced by the business claim that the actions were part of reasonable performance management, as it was clear that the discussions were not called with notice, the employee did not know that the discussions were a ‘performance management meeting’ and the employee did not have the option to arrange to have a support person present.
“Plainly, the conduct cannot be said to fall within a disciplinary process, coming as it did on an ad hoc basis and without the [worker] having any support person with him. Moreover, no disciplinary consequences flowed from the [first] meeting”, noted Member Burge.
“It is apparent the [worker] was working in a highly stressed environment in a role which he was not familiar and was doing his best to carry that role out”, concluded Burge when he awarded the case to the employee and awarded workers compensation.
Learnings for all businesses
“What employers can take from this case is that, even in ‘open business cultures’ it is inappropriate and very risky to ‘call out’ performance issues in group meetings or in front of colleagues” explains ACAPMAs Elisha Radwanowski.
“In this case both the tone and the content of the ‘call out’ mattered in the creation of an injury. A gentle, even tone reminder about a task that is unfinished or overdue is acceptable in a group meeting. In contrast however a ‘berating’ an ‘aggressive’ tone or a laundry list of ‘failures’ is likely to rise to the level of causing an injury”, continued Elisha.
“The rule of thumb remains; if termination is a possible outcome the discussion should happen in a private formal performance management meeting. Similarly if the manager is not prepared to answer the question ‘does this mean I am going to be fired’ in response to the comments they are planning to make, then they should not be making those comments in a group meeting”.
“Any performance management process will be determined to be unfair if the employee is not given the opportunity to arrange for and bring a support person to a performance management meeting, or is denied their right to a private meeting about performance issues”.
“What this case highlights is that, in addition to procedural fairness risks associated with ‘airing performance issues in a group’, such behaviour also poses the risk of a workplace injury”, concludes Elisha.
Here to Help
ACAPMA members are reminded that ACAPMA has a series of resources from Quick Reference Guides to template letters and investigation and reporting checklists that can assist with ensuring compliant and consistent responses in this area, and can call on the advice and support of the ACAPMA Employment Professionals via employment@acapma.com.au .
HR Highlights are things to consider, implement and watch out for in your business.
They are provided as general advice and you should seek further advice on your situation by emailing employment@acapma.com.au it’s free for members.
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