Business Franchise Australia & New Zealand — July-August 2017

7070 Business Franchise Australia and New Zealand Business Franchise Australia and New Zealand

expert Advice

the majority of employees

with mental health problems

successfully manage their

illness without it impacting on

their work, and it is important

to remember that people

affected by mental illness

have the same rights and

responsibilities, as other

employees.

A stressful work environment or a workplace

incident, can however cause considerable

anxiety and aggravate or contribute to the

manifestation of mental illness. Employers

and managers are obliged to take appropriate

steps to eliminate and minimise health and

safety risks in the workplace. In terms of

mental illness, as an employer or manager you

are compelled to:

• identify workplace practices, actions or
  incidents which may cause or contribute to
  the mental illness


• take actions to eliminate or minimise these
  risks.
  The legal obligations of employers in relation
  to the management of mental illness in the
  workplace are as follows:

1. Occupational Health and Safety (OHS)
   legislation requires you to ensure your
   workplace is safe and healthy for all
   employees and does not cause ill health

or aggravate existing conditions. It is

important to objectively assess the actual

OHS risk of a worker with mental illness.

Proceed as one would with any Risk

Assessment:

a. determine the degree of risk and take

steps to minimise or prevent it

b. take action to eliminate or manage the

risk as appropriate.

2. Discrimination in the workplace against
   someone with a mental illness (or other
   disability) is unlawful under the Disability
   Discrimination Act 1992. You are also
   required to make reasonable adjustments in
   the workplace, to meet the needs of workers
   with mental illness.


3. The Privacy Act 1988, requires you
   to ensure personal information about

MANAGING

MENTAL

HEALTH

AT WorK

YOuR LEGAL RESPONSIBILITIES