Bullying in Australian workplaces is a serious issue with serious consequences for the individuals involved as well as employers. Bullying and harassment can cause significant psychological harm and injury to an individual, with adverse flow-on effects for workplace morale, productivity and absenteeism.

Safe Work Australia research found that in 2014-15, about 9.7 per cent of the Australian workplace had experienced workplace bullying, a figure that had dropped slightly to 8.6 per cent by 2020-21. Workplace bullying or harassment is generally considered to entail behaviours such as verbal or physical abuse of a person, including intimidating or aggressive behaviour towards them. It can also encompass online harassment, either within or beyond the working environment – for example, through emails or texts sent outside work hours.

A person who believes they have been the victim of workplace bullying may have a claim for compensation because of both short and long-term consequences of the behaviour, from sickness to depression, alcoholism or drug dependence, and thoughts of suicide.

That claim may be made against the person’s employer because there is a well-established ‘duty of care’ relationship between an employer and an employee. The relationship means an employer maintains a duty to ensure a safe workplace for employees. Generally speaking, this duty requires the employer to provide and maintain safe plant and equipment, select skilled and competent employees, ensure a ‘safe system’ of work, and provide adequate training and instructions.

When an employee is injured at work as a result of the action (or inaction) of a manager, supervisor or another employee, including bullying, the employer can be held responsible – or vicariously liable – for the harm or injury that results.

Section 32 of the Workers’ Compensation and Rehabilitation Act 2003 (Qld) (‘the Act’) makes clear that a work ‘injury’ must arise out of, or in the course of, employment if the employment is a significant contributing factor to the injury, including aggravation of a prior condition. The definition includes a psychological injury ‘arising out of, or in the course of, employment’ and ‘employment is a significant contributing factor to the injury’.

Bullying does not include reasonable management action

It’s important to make a distinction between behaviour that can be characterised as bullying and harassment, and what is termed ‘reasonable management action’ (RMA).

RMA encompasses a manager making decisions about an employee’s poor performance, taking disciplinary action, or giving directions about the way work duties are to be performed. Examples of management action provided in the Act include action taken ‘to transfer, demote, discipline, redeploy, retrench or dismiss the worker’ and ‘a decision not to award or provide promotion, reclassification or transfer of, or leave of absence or benefit in connection with, the worker’s employment’.

Many people often accuse their boss of bullying behaviour when in fact, the conduct falls within the parameters of RMA. RMA works as one of the exceptions to the definition of injury found in the Act.



Management action that is not carried out in a reasonable way, therefore, may constitute bullying.

How does a vicarious liability claim work?

A worker’s injuries arising from bullying or harassment by one employee towards another could give rise to the employer being vicariously liable in a compensation claim.



An employer is unlikely to be held vicariously liable for negligent acts by an employee where that worker’s actions constitute serious and wilful misconduct, or are outside the scope of employment. Evidence is required that demonstrates the employer was negligent in allowing the person who caused the injury – such as a co-worker who repeatedly bullies a colleague – to indulge in the harmful behaviour.

A common law claim by the victim may see them awarded compensation for:

• the loss of past and future income, including superannuation contributions;
• pain, suffering and loss of enjoyment of life;
• past and future special expenses (including medical, rehabilitation and pharmaceutical expenses, travel expenses, care, assistance, aids and equipment).

Any final damages pay-out, it should be noted, will be reduced by the amount of any compensation already paid by WorkCover.

Speak with our workplace compensation specialists

Establishing vicarious liability on the part of the employer if you’ve been bullied and harassed at work can be a challenging process. In cases where the claim alleges bullying conduct by a manager or supervisor, an employer will commonly rely on the RMA exception in its defence.

It’s important to seek the advice of compensation specialists if you wish to establish an employer’s vicarious liability for your injury. At Lifestyle Injury Lawyers, our professionals can help clarify the issues involved in making this type of compensation claim.