A construction worker has recently been slapped with a giant fine after the death of a worker on a building site, and the sole director of the company, the site manager, has also been personally fined.
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The fines serve as yet another reminder why it’s vital for companies and directors alike to have plans and procedures in place when it comes to risks on their work sites.

The worker was a bricklayer, one of the 15 to 20 people who could have been on-site at any time. His death was a result of a fall through an unguarded penetration on the second floor of the building site. Whilst the site could have up to 20 workers on site at any given time, the judge determined that there were approximately four workers who would have been exposed to the risk in the week leading up to the incident.
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Despite the fact that neither the company nor its director has accepted responsibility for the failures that led to the bricklayer’s death, they have been fined $425,000 and $85,000 respectively – collectively making this the second biggest fine in NSW history and, unsurprisingly, sending the company out of business.

Between one-third and half of the total number of FWC workplace bullying claims came from employees working in organisations with less than 50 employees.

SMEs face particular challenges in managing people. There is often no dedicated human resources department within the business, or HR is just one of many functions that a managing director has responsibility for.

This highlights the importance of keeping on top of the many potential areas of liability in relation to employment issues. And workplace bullying is one of the key emerging risks for all employers.

That sudden, earth-stopping spasm. Pain shooting down your legs like lightning chasing the ground. You won’t move; you can’t — at least not without a hunch or staggered walk, a desperate hand gripping a crooked hip. Like the first blow from a logger’s axe, this will take a chip out of you or bring your whole body crashing down.

Almost everyone will experience low back pain at some point. For some, it can become a chronic, debilitating condition, a lifelong burden with no easy fix. Most will get better, but an increasing number of people are considering major medical interventions to turn the tide.

The surgeons who are asked to help people deal with the problem (a problem for which there are sometimes no solutions) want sufferers to understand the limitations. They also suggest that low back pain is made worse by feeling as if you are carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders.

The Global Burden of Disease Study has declared lower back and neck pain to be Australia’s leading cause of ongoing disability and poor health. It ranked more highly than ischaemic heart disease (the leading cause of premature death) and depressive disorders, and the years lost because of this disability have increased significantly.