New study on social media in the workplace

A new international study suggests that colleagues posting embarrassing photos of one another on social media sites is contributing to a widespread breakdown of workplace privacy.

Co-workers using social media sites to make unwanted romantic advances is also said to be blurring the distinction between work and home life.

The findings are based on surveys with 4000 social media users in 10 countries, and were published by internet security firm AVG Technologies.

"This study highlights the need for a combination of greater education around social media, alongside increased attention and care by both employees and employers to their social media etiquette at work," the company said.

Key findings among Australian respondents include:
• 6/10 said social media sites have eroded their expectation of privacy at work
• 1/10 said they have had embarrassing photos or videos taken at a work event and uploaded on to social media sites
• 9/10 believed sending unpleasant or defamatory remarks to or about a colleague using digital communications constituted cyber-bullying
• Employees raised concerns about managers discovering embarrassing or incriminating information on social media sites

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Source: The Australian and Smart Company

Firm fined £60,000 after an employee's hair was ripped out by machinery

A company has been fined £60,000 after a young worker was severely injured when her hair was ripped out by poorly guarded machinery.

The 25-year-old was sorting clothes hangers on a conveyor when her scarf and hair became caught in the chain and sprocket drive of the belt as she bent over to remove accumulated hangers.

She sustained serious throat injuries, lost a substantial part of her hair and fractured a finger in the incident.

The firm had fitted a guard to the conveyor but it did not fully enclose the dangerous moving parts. There was no emergency stop button on the conveyor and the company's risk assessment failed to identify the dangers of entanglement in conveyors.

The company was fined £60,000 and ordered to pay costs of £21,668.

HSE Inspector David Wynne said: "Employers must ensure that workers are properly monitored, supervised and trained when working with this sort of equipment."

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Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2013/rnn-w-mainetti.htm

Crushing fatality leads to $250,000 fine

A construction company working on upgrades to a highway has been fined $250,000 after one of its workers was crushed to death by a roller.

The 31-year-old labourer was on his second day on the job on a road upgrade project. He was helping to lay asphalt when a three-tonne multi-wheeled roller ran over him.

The worker was spraying the stationary roller when the operator accidentally released the brakes, causing the vehicle to lurch forward and roll over him.

A WorkCover investigation subsequently found the company failed to properly train or supervise the man.

NSW Finance Minister Greg Pearce says the fine is a reminder to maintain safety protocols.

"This tragedy could have been avoided had there been the right instruction and the vehicle properly maintained," He said in a statement.

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Source: http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1727634/Company-fined-after-worker-fatally-crushed

Electrical and machine guarding hazards lead to OSHA inspection and citation

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited a building materials company with 7 serious violations for exposing workers to electrical and machine guarding hazards, with proposed penalties of $41,000.

OSHA conducted a safety inspection in response to a complaint about unsafe working conditions and machine hazards. They discovered workers building prefabricated wood trusses without the required machine guarding.

"The lack of machine guarding can lead to serious injuries, including amputations," said Casey Perkins, OSHA's area director in Austin. "OSHA's standards must be followed to prevent accidents, injuries and illnesses."

The serious violations include failing to provide machine guarding while operating saws, ensure that rotating shafts on machines are covered, ensure that electrical wiring is protected and ensure electrical cords are maintained in safe condition.

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Source: http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=NEWS_RELEASES&p_id=23481

Waste management firm fined after 2 workers injured within a week

A waste management firm has admitted neglecting the safety of its workforce after 2 men were injured within just a week.

The first incident happened when site workers were setting up a waste sorting machine for use. One worker climbed on to its front conveyor belt and kneeled down to clear a blockage, while his co-worker thought he had gone to fetch something and started up the machine. He was propelled along the belt and dropped ten feet. He suffered fractures to his foot and skin and nerve damage.

The second incident occurred when a worker was helping to restart a Jaw Crusher machine. He saw some wire tangled in a magnetic belt roller and went to pull it free. The machine suddenly restarted and the wire was pulled back into the rollers along with the worker’s left forearm. He sustained crush injuries to his forearm.

The company had failed to implement simple measures that would have prevented both incidents and had ignored earlier warnings by the Health and Safety Executive about the lack of a safe system of work.

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Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2012/rnn-yh-19212.htm?eban=rss-

Fair Work Australia dismissed a company's appeal over a worker's Facebook comments

Fair Work Australia (FWA) dismissed an appeal by a transport company, which tried to sack an employee for making derogatory comments about 2 of his managers on Facebook.

FWA found:
• Comments about the death of a Muslim terrorist were "distasteful", but within his right to free speech and could not be considered a personal attack on one of his managers, who is a practising Muslim.
• A comment referring to a manager as a "bacon hater" was in "poor taste".
• Sexual comments about a female manager were "outrageous", but most were made by his Facebook friends in response to his comment.
• The company did not have a social media policy and its induction training materials were inadequate grounds to sack the employee.
• The employee’s limited understanding of Facebook was relevant, but such claims of ignorance are likely to be viewed less favourably in the future as more people join social media websites.

The company launched an appeal but FWA upheld the original ruling.

The industrial umpire warned "Facebook conversations leave a permanent written record of statements and comments made by participants, which can be read at any time into the future until they are taken down by the page owner," the appeal panel said.

"Employees should therefore exercise considerable care in using social networking sites in making comments or conducting conversations about their managers and fellow employees."

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Source: http://au.finance.yahoo.com/news/linfox-loses-appeal-over-truckies-061015018.html

Staff at a food manufacturer speak publicly about years of alleged workplace bullying

Almost half the staff at an inner-city gourmet food manufacturer have spoken out about alleged extreme workplace bullying. The staff took the unusual step of speaking publicly about the alleged bullying because they hoped doing so would help their situation.

18 staff out of 38 accused their employer of allowing bullying to go unchecked despite numerous complaints, including allowing a senior staff member to:
■Regularly scream at them & make sexual comments.
■Tell workers they needed to give 48 hours' notice if they wanted to take sick days.
■Demand staff work overtime, without any notice.
■Tell any casual worker who became full time they must ''celebrate'' by buying lunch for the entire workplace, or buying a supervisor a gift.
■Keep the wages of some employees for up to 8 weeks.
■Pressure most staff to pay her - in cash - 10% of a backpay payment.

The case will throw a spotlight on laws passed last year that were aimed at tackling workplace bullying.

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Source: http://www.theage.com.au/small-business/staff-at-food-plant-allege-years-of-extreme-bullying-20121007-277dc.html

Safe Work Australia has proposed a code of practice to fight workplace fatigue

Under proposed national laws to fight workplace fatigue, bosses will have to roster jobs around workers' social lives and check that staff who yawn or daydream aren't too tired to work safely.

Safe Work Australia’s checklist for employers to spot worker fatigue includes headaches, daydreaming, constant yawning, low motivation, moodiness, slow reflexes and responses, increased errors and drifting in and out of traffic lanes while driving.

The draft code proposes that:
• Bosses "eliminate or reduce the need to work extended hours or overtime" so staff don't get too tired.
• "Safety critical" tasks - such as administering drugs, driving a truck or electrical work - should not be performed in the "low body clock period" of 2pm to 4pm.
• Rosters should be drawn up to accommodate workers' social lives.
• Employers should train workers in "balancing work and personal lifestyle demands".

The code of practice - to be finalised next year - will be admissible in court if an employer is charged with breaching workplace health and safety laws.

Safe Work Australia is revising the code. "Changes aim to reflect recent research findings and outcomes of case law," a spokeswoman said.

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Source: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/safe-work-australia-plan-to-cut-risk-for-tired-workers-puts-employers-offside/story-fndo471r-1226489795262

Recycling company sentenced over worker's death

A recycling company has been ordered to pay £240,000 in fines and costs after a worker was killed at a factory.

The 31-year-old worker was last seen alive by his colleagues in the early hours of the morning on 24 November 2005. The HSE investigation concluded that the most likely cause of his death was that he fell into a machine while checking to see if it was running smoothly.

The company failed to take steps to prevent access to the machine while it was operating, and failed to ensure power to the machine was cut before maintenance work was carried out. The company also had an inadequate risk assessment in place and its training, supervision and monitoring of the work did not meet acceptable standards.

Speaking after the hearing, HSE Principal Inspector Tanya Stewart said:
"This was a tragic death that could have been prevented if the company had put more thought into the safety of its employees and the adequacy of its working practices. I hope this case will act as a warning to companies to think more carefully about the safety of workers who clean, maintain or repair machines or who clear blockages."

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Source: http://www.hse.gov.uk/press/2012/rnn-nw-jfcplastics.htm

Companies should establish a social media policy, according to new survey results

Businesses that haven't already set up policies about how their staff use social media in the workplace should do so quickly or risk becoming irrelevant to job seekers, according to the Hays Tomorrow’s Workforce report.

The results suggest while businesses don't need to spend a disproportionate amount of time creating a social media policy, it will still affect how potential employees see the company and affect your reputation.

• 19.7% of job seekers would consider turning down a job if they didn't have "reasonable access" to social media sites during work hours.
• 44.3% of employers believe that allowing employees to have access to social media will improve retention levels.
• 25.3% of respondents didn't have a clear idea of how to represent their companies on social media. Businesses have found themselves in hot water over situations where employees have said inappropriate things on Facebook or Twitter, reflecting badly on the company.

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For more information on this HR news, visit Smart Company’s article. Source: http://www.smartcompany.com.au/managing-people/051902-workplace-policies-on-social-media-essential-as-survey-reveals-one-fifth-of-job-seekers-want-full-access.html