Appendix 3 - Scenarios Scenario 1 Compliance versus best practice – approaches XYZ Legal and ABC Legal are two law firms specialising in family law and criminal law. Lawyers in both firms experience high workloads and exposure to trauma working on cases associated with domestic violence, child sexual abuse and other crimes. XYZ Legal (on the left) shows compliance with health and safety laws so far as reasonably practicable. The example on the right (ABC Legal) shows a greater level of management commitment to improve the way work is designed and managed. ABC Legal can demonstrate higher order control measures in the hierarchy of controls. ABC Legal also shows how health promotion activities at work can help encourage healthy behaviours, and is better practice. They are able to provide evidence that they are ensuring health and safety so far as reasonably practicable. XYZ approach - compliant ABC approach - Best practice XYZ Legal had a high turnover of staff and ABC Legal is a successful law firm with a low morale in the workplace and a culture high level of job satisfaction amongst its where continuously high levels of stress workers. Recognising the stressful nature of and long work hours were accepted as part their work, the senior partners focused on of the job and any sign of could preventing psychological harm, so far as ‘weakness’ cost a lawyer their job. Staff were reasonably practicable. They assess work exhausted and decided to seek help from demands, level of control, work the WHS regulator. relationships, emotional and practical support, recognition and reward and A WHS inspector visited the firm and issued organisational fairness. improvement notices to the senior partners requiring them to manage the risks of Unlike XYZ staff at ABC Legal feel psychological harm to their workers. The free to raise concerns when they identify senior partners introduced a psychological psychosocial hazards and to ask for help health and safety management program to: when they have difficulty managing workloads and responding to emotionally consult regularly with to identify demanding cases. Bullying, harassment hazards and risks, monitor and manage and aggressive behaviours are not workloads and resources tolerated. The lawyers working at ABC establish a program for examining work Legal have: activities to identify psychosocial hazards and assess and control file flagging to inadvertent from: exposure to cases that may be distressing high workloads, access to flexible work practices exposure to traumatic events and more control in deciding they take distressed or angry and aggressive on and how they manage the workload clients, and
Appendix 3 - Scenarios Scenario 1 – Compliance versus best practice approaches XYZ Legal and ABC Legal are two law firms specialising in family law and criminal law. Lawyers in both firms experience high workloads and exposure to trauma working on cases associated with domestic violence, child sexual abuse and other crimes. XYZ Legal (on the left) shows compliance with health and safety laws so far as reasonably practicable. The example on the right (ABC Legal) shows a greater level of management commitment to improve the way work is designed and managed. ABC Legal can demonstrate higher order control measures in the hierarchy of controls. ABC Legal also shows how health promotion activities at work can help encourage healthy behaviours, and is better practice. They are able to provide evidence that they are ensuring health and safety so far as reasonably practicable. XYZ approach - compliant ABC approach - Best practice XYZ Legal had a high turnover of staff and low morale in the workplace and a culture where continuously high levels of stress and long work hours were accepted as part of the job and any sign of ‘weakness’ could cost a lawyer their job. Staff were exhausted and decided to seek help from the WHS regulator. A WHS inspector visited the firm and issued improvement notices to the senior partners requiring them to manage the risks of psychological harm to their workers. The senior partners introduced a psychological health and safety management program to: consult regularly with to identify hazards and risks, monitor and manage workloads and resources establish a program for examining work activities to identify psychosocial hazards and assess and control from: high workloads, exposure to traumatic events and distressed or angry and aggressive clients, and ABC Legal is a successful law firm with a high level of job satisfaction amongst its workers. Recognising the stressful nature of their work, the senior partners focused on preventing psychological harm, so far as reasonably practicable. They assess work demands, level of control, work relationships, emotional and practical support, recognition and reward and organisational fairness. Unlike XYZ staff at ABC Legal feel free to raise concerns when they identify psychosocial hazards and to ask for help when they have difficulty managing workloads and responding to emotionally demanding cases. Bullying, harassment and aggressive behaviours are not tolerated. The lawyers working at ABC Legal have: file flagging to inadvertent exposure to cases that may be distressing access to flexible work practices more control in deciding they take on and how they manage the workload