Workers' Rights, Responsibilities and Workplace Behaviour
Rights of workers
Workers have the right to a safe workplace, to be consulted, to receive information, training and supervision, to access PPE without cost, and to cease unsafe work where they have a reasonable concern of serious injury or illness. A worker who stops work for safety reasons is protected from discrimination or adverse action - this is a prohibition on coercion and discrimination. Workers also have the right to representation through an HSR and to raise issues without victimisation.
Responsibilities of workers
Workers must take reasonable care for their own health and safety and that of others, comply with reasonable instructions and WHS policies, use PPE as directed, and report hazards, incidents and injuries. Traps: workers cannot be disciplined for raising a genuine safety concern, but they can be held accountable for deliberately ignoring procedures or misusing equipment.
Workplace behaviour
Construction sites have high rates of psychosocial hazards: bullying, harassment, occupational violence, fatigue and excessive hours. These are WHS hazards and must be managed like any other risk - through leadership, reporting channels, workload management and a respectful culture. Alcohol and drugs impair judgement and are managed through policy, testing where lawful, and support rather than blame alone. Traps: questions may frame bullying as an HR issue only; the correct answer treats it as a WHS risk requiring controls.
Worked example
A worker is told to work on an unguarded roof edge. They refuse and report it. The correct answer: the refusal is lawful because there is a reasonable concern of serious injury, the worker must remain available for other work, and the employer must not take adverse action - instead the edge protection must be fixed.
Rule of thumb
A worker's duty is care, compliance and reporting; their protection is that no one may coerce them into unsafe work or punish them for raising safety.