Sexual harassment and discrimination have featured heavily as the subject of a number of news headlines over the last few weeks. Farmers are encouraged to disseminate their sexual harassment policies to make clear to their employees that they take these issues seriously and to instill confidence in their employees that they can come forward should any issues arise within the workplace.
Bullying, harassment and discrimination policies are critically important for employers to have. Employees should not only be shown the policies when they start with the business (i.e. at induction), the policies should also be re-communicated to all employees from time to time through tool box meetings.
The VFF Farm Safety Team encourages farmers to use their OHS policies strategically at various points in the year to consult with their employees about matters that affect their safety. For example, communicating a UV protection policy makes sense around the start of Spring and just disseminating a drug and alcohol policy before the festive season (i.e. towards the end of November) also makes sense.