Guidelines for Reporting Official Misconduct & Reportable Breaches Arising from Workcover

Guidelines for Reporting Misconduct & Official Misconduct from WorkCover Claims, Workplace Health & Safety Incident Report Forms or QSuper Applications

It is a requirement under the department’s Code of Conduct that all allegations of official misconduct and all suspected reportable breaches of the department’s code of conduct (misconduct) are reported. It is the role of Ethical Standards to coordinate the investigations into reported allegations of misconduct and official misconduct, however there is some capacity for regions to investigate allegations of misconduct locally.

These guidelines have been developed to provide a suggested process for regions to manage documented allegations of misconduct or official misconduct identified through the following source documents:

 WorkCover Application Form  Employee’s Statement to WorkCover (either claimant’s statement or witness statements)  WorkCover Statement of Reasons  Q-COMP Review Decision  Industrial Magistrate or Industrial Commission Decision relating to Workers’ Compensation Claims  Workplace Health & Safety Incident Report Form  QSuper Application Form  Application for Leave  Doctors Reports

These guidelines do not relate to allegations made verbally to a Senior Injury Management Consultant, Employee Advisor or other Human Resource employee.

The benefits arising from reporting documented allegations of misconduct or official misconduct are:

 Ensuring that all allegations, regardless of the source documents, are dealt with appropriately.  Ensuring the quick resolution of allegations that are substantiated and may prevent the lodgement of additional WorkCover claims and grievances.  Being better placed to defend a WorkCover claim where allegations are not able to be substantiated.  Considering improvements and enhancements to current policies and practices, by learning from the outcomes of these investigations.

What is Official Misconduct and Misconduct

Official Misconduct Official Misconduct is defined by the department’s Code of Conduct as conduct that could, if proved, be a criminal offence, or a disciplinary breach providing reasonable grounds for terminating the person's services, if the person is or were the holder of an appointment.

Misconduct Misconduct is defined by the department’s Code of Conduct as disgraceful or improper conduct in an official capacity; or disgraceful or improper conduct in a private capacity that reflects seriously and adversely on the public service.

Examples of Allegations That Should be Reported to Ethical Standards:

of 4  An employee lodges a claim for a psychological injury alleging sexual harassment by another employee.  An employee lodges a claim for physical injuries arising from a car accident in which they were the driver. The Police have advised that they have charged the employee with driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the accident.  An employee lodges a claim as a result of injuries arising from being physically harassed by another employee. This harassment may include being shoved, punched, kicked or having an object thrown at them.  An employee lodges a claim for a psychological injury alleging bullying and harassment by another employee.

Suggested Process (Prior to a WorkCover Decision or via other Departmental Documents)

STEP 1 A regional officer becomes aware of an allegation of official misconduct or misconduct via one of the following documents:  WorkCover Application form  Employee’s statement to WorkCover (either claimant’s statement or witness statements)  Workplace Health & Safety Incident Report Form  QSuper application form  Application for Leave STEP 2 The region determines whether the allegation should be reported to Ethical Standards. A) Allegation of Official Misconduct: If the allegation relates to a suspected case of official misconduct this must be reported to Ethical Standards. B) Allegation of Misconduct: If the allegations relate to misconduct, the regional HR Team determine whether the allegations are significant enough to warrant the referral of the complaint to Ethical Standards. This may involve the region undertaking informal inquiries into the complaint to determine if there is any substance to the allegation, or if the alleged breach of the code of conduct is minor. If you are unsure whether an allegation should be referred to Ethical Standards, it is recommended that the region contact Ethical Standards to discuss the allegations, or refer the allegation to Ethical Standards and let them decide whether the allegations warrant further consideration. STEP 3 If the decision is made not to refer the allegations to the Ethical Standards as the allegations are minor and will not result in disciplinary action or the region believes the allegation may not be able to be substantiated, no further action is taken unless the allegations arose in the course of a WorkCover claim. It is important that you document any inquiries done (e.g. details of phone calls) and the regions reasons for deciding not to refer the allegation to Ethical Standards. If the region became aware of the allegations during the investigation of a WorkCover claim, Ethical Standards MUST be advised if a decision is made by WorkCover or Q-COMP to accept the claim (see suggested approach for accepted WorkCover claims). STEP 4 If the decision is made to refer the allegations to Ethical Standards the region completes a memo to the Director, Ethical Standards. [Use template 1 for this purpose]. Attached to this memo should be any documents that may need to be considered by Ethical Standards when considering the allegation (e.g. copy of WorkCover application form). STEP 5 Director, Ethical Standards reviews the allegation and determines the appropriate actions. This may include:

of 4  Referral back to the school to manage the issue at a local level with no requirement for any further reporting to Ethical Standards  A request for the school to manage the issue and provide notification to Ethical Standards of the outcome  Referral to the district or the region for investigation with Terms of Reference determined by Ethical Standards  Investigated by Ethical Standards staff  Referral to CMC or the Queensland Police Service.

If it is identified that disciplinary action may be required following an investigation, the case is referred to the Director, Education Workforce Relations for consideration as to the appropriate disciplinary action to be taken.

Example 1 – Decision to Refer an Allegation to Ethical Standards An employee lodges a WorkCover claim for a psychological injury. On the application form the employee alleges that the cause of their injury is sexual harassment by another employee. The region considers the allegation and discusses this with the Principal/Manager of the Workplace. The Principal/Manager is unaware of these allegations, however cannot confirm that this did not occur. The region determines that Ethical Standards will be notified to determine the appropriate course of action.

Example 2 – Decision not to Refer an Allegation to Ethical Standards An employee lodges a WorkCover claim for a psychological injury. On the application form the employee alleges that the cause of their injury is due to bullying or harassment by their Supervisor as they were subjected to an unwarranted performance management process. The region contacts the Supervisor and discusses the allegation of harassment. The Supervisor advises that this is an employee they have just commenced a managing unsatisfactory performance process with and that they have followed the departments policies in this area. The region determine that this allegation of harassment may not be substantiated, therefore determine not to notify Ethical Standards at this time (note – if this claim was accepted by WorkCover or Q-COMP Ethical Standards MUST be notified).

Suggested Process (WorkCover Accepted – Ethical Standards not Previously Advised)

STEP 1 WorkCover or Q-Comp advise the department that a claim will be accepted. The region determines that the reason for WorkCover or Q- Comp accepting the claim may relate to misconduct or official misconduct by an employee. This will generally relate to decisions by WorkCover to accept a claim due to unreasonable management action. STEP 2 The region obtains as much information as possible from WorkCover about the decision. This may be done through:  The WorkCover Employer Release Scheme - there are no costs associated with accessing information this Scheme; or  With the employee’s documented consent – there are no costs associated with accessing information via this means; or  FOI – Costs for a FOI request are a $35.25 application fee and then 20c per page. Costs associated with this request are borne by the region. STEP 3 The region completes a memo to the Director, Ethical Standards advising of the outcome of the WorkCover claim and attaching relevant documentation. [Use template 2 for this purpose]. If there is a delay in obtaining supporting information from WorkCover (e.g. if the information is requested via FOI) the memo should be sent to the

of 4 Director, Ethical Standards without this information. The memo should detail the alleged breach, advise what information has been requested and the approximate timeframe for receipt of this information. Once the information is received this should be sent to the Director, Ethical Standards. STEP 4 Director, Ethical Standards reviews allegation and determines the appropriate actions. This may include:  Referral back to the school to manage the issue at a local level with no requirement for any further reporting to Ethical Standards  A request for the school to manage the issue and provide notification to Ethical Standards of the outcome  Referral to the district or the region for investigation with Terms of Reference determined by Ethical Standards  Investigated by Ethical Standards staff  Referral to CMC or the Queensland Police Service

If it is identified that disciplinary action may be required following an investigation, the case is referred to the Director, Education Workforce Relations for consideration as to the appropriate disciplinary action to be taken.