A recent unfair dismissal case has affirmed that workplace violence, even when provoked by racist comments, is unacceptable.
In this case an employee was dismissed after he threw a mug at and then grabbed a colleague who had, over a period of time, taunted the employee with racist comments and epithets.
In handing down the decision that the dismissal of the mug thrower was indeed fair, Commissioner Hunt noted that it was “astonishing” that the employer had not addressed the inappropriate conduct of the ‘victim’ and noted that while violence has no place in the workplace, neither does racism.
“A workplace should be free of physical violence”, noted Commissioner Hunt, outlining that despite the provokation a worker “cannot engage in physical violence in the workplace because a colleague annoys them”.
Learnings for all businesses
“It should be a major learning for all businesses that even tacit acceptance of inappropriate behaviour, such as racist comments, can quickly escalate. All inappropriate conduct at work should be addressed without delay at the workplace, before it turns into a violent incident. In this case it was mug throwing, but it could have been worse”, explains ACAPMAs Elisha Radwanowski.
“Arguably the business also opened itself up to a discrimination claim from ‘the offender’ in this case by not dealing with the racist comments of ‘the victim’ sooner”, continued Elisha.
“While the violent action of ‘the offender’ was a valid reason for dismissal, and the dismissal followed a valid process, this case certainly could have gone another way due to the failure of the business to address the inappropriate conduct at work of ‘the victim'”.
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.
ACAPMA Membership is affordable at only $860 per year for a single site and valuable with sites gaining HR advice support and representation as well as a raft of other benefits and discounts. Click here to learn more about ACAPMA Membership.
Elisha Radwanowski BCom(HRM&IR)
ACAPMA
