Committee WHS responsibilities when an owner targets caretakers

QLD

Management & Agreements

Rules & Bylaws

Committee & Governance

If an owner spreads false information about the caretakers and encourages other owners to monitor them, does this amount to workplace bullying? What should the committee do?

In our large building, one owner emailed all other owners with false and misleading claims about the management team and caretakers. They urge owners to follow the caretakers, record or photograph any supposed breaches, and keep records for possible future legal action. They've also circulated misleading financial information about how the building is run.

This owner has organised separate meetings and created a WhatsApp group to discuss these claims and continues to send weekly emails to all owners. How can the committee best support and protect our caretakers in this situation? Could this behaviour amount to workplace bullying? What options do we have to address the false financial information that the owner has circulated? Would it be appropriate for the committee to send a rebuttal email that sets out the correct facts and directs owners to verified information on our community hub?

The body corporate has a responsibility to ensure the workplace is free from bullying and harassment.

From a body corporate context, I think the caretaker is certainly the one with an interest in pursuing the matter further, because we are talking about their reputation and potential financial loss.

The body corporate has a responsibility to ensure the workplace is free from bullying and harassment, subject to a few criteria that they must meet. So I think the committee should act on that if it feels it is an unsafe environment, or if the caretaker makes a complaint about whether their employees are operating in a safe environment. There are obligations under the Fair Work Act 2009.

The committee should certainly send something out about the situation. They should also check the by-laws. There may be bylaws regarding communication and how it should be conducted. They could take some enforcement processes through that by-law, if needed. Otherwise, it's really up to the caretaker to pursue any rights they feel they have.