Samantha Turner, Barrister, Stout Street Chambers

• What is psychological safety?

• Key duties and obligations of employers and employees

• Australia’s response: managing the risks of psychosocial hazards at

• work code of practice

Samantha Turner, Barrister, Stout Street Chambers

The evidence is clear, the quality of our work environment profoundly affects our physical and mental health. The focus should be on changing the work before looking at what workers can do to prevent or minimise harm. This session will discuss:

• Work-related factors that have the potential to cause physical and/or mental harm

• Why psychosocial risk assessments are necessary but not sufficient

• 5 stages of better work by design -socialisation, discovery, sense making, design and realisation

Dr Hillary Bennett, Partner, Leading Safety

Performance management and disciplinary processes are high stress situations for any employee but can be even more harmful for someone with mental health issues if not handled with appropriate care. This session will look into what the Courts expectations are when you are going through an employment process with an employee who has mental health issues. Conversely, there are times when an employee’s health, both physical and mental, is preventing them from fully undertaking their role. This session will also explore what options are open to an employer in this situation

Fiona McMillan, Partner, Lane Neave

Managing long term absences in the workplace is difficult and sensitive when concerning mental health issues. The session will help you understand your rights and responsibilities including:

• Managing and supervising absenteeism

• Capacity assessment and return to work process

• Issuing formal warnings

• Dealing with employees who refuse or are unwilling to return to work and lessons from recent cases.

Marie Wisker, Partner, Chapman Tripp

Hannah King, Partner, Kiely Thompson Caisley

The evidence is clear: The quality of our work environment profoundly affects our physical and mental health. Work that is well designed, organised, and resourced enables people to thrive, while poorly designed work can exact a heavy toll. Better Work By Design (BWBD) is a 5-stage process to engage workers in improving their work, not a simple risk assessment. Creating a workplace where sustained, long-term wellbeing is possible requires courage and commitment to methodically examine – and, through good design, improve – the work people do. Better work provides opportunities for meaning, connection, learning, and growth – the cornerstones of positive mental health and wellbeing - as well as a way to eliminate or minimise harm. Keri will share the BWBD process, as well as the resources that support this process, and Tracey will share CHEP’s experience of using these.

Tracey Miller, Senior HR Manager NZ, CHEP and Keri Woods, Partner, Leading Safety

Claims of stress, anxiety or bullying can often lead to workplace investigations. These investigations can be troublesome, complex and if done wrong can lead to further potential legal action. This session will focus on the importance of correct procedure in workplace investigation processes for HR, H&S and legal professionals.

• Duties and obligations employers have to investigation participants

• How to effectively manage workplace investigations

• Privacy and confidentiality

Andrew Scott-Howman, Barrister, Port Nicholson Chambers and Australasian Advisory Committee Member, Association of Workplace Investigators