Employees fined in Magistrates Court after posting planking photos on Facebook

  • Two individual employees have been prosecuted by WorkSafe Victoria after the regulator was alerted to photos posted on Facebook showing them planking in their workplaces. 
  • One employee had planked on the raised tines of a forklift and the other on top of a spray booth.
  • The employees were charged under the Occupational Health and Safety Act 2004 (OHS Act) for failing to take reasonable care of their own health and safety.
  • In imposing a fine of A$1500 each, the Magistrate said the pair clearly wanted to attract attention when they posted the photographs on Facebook, but their previous good character allowed them to escape conviction.
  • Employees who engage in planking at work are also putting their employment in jeopardy. Planking at work would likely constitute a valid reason for termination of employment if it is in circumstances where there is serious risk to health and safety.
  • The case also demonstrates regulators have an appetite to prosecute individuals who place themselves and others at risk.
  • This case follows the imposition of a four month jail term last week for a tradesperson who shot an apprentice in the eye with a nail gun. The tradesperson pleaded guilty to recklessly endangering the health and safety of another person. The jail term was scaled down to a community based order. This was the first jail term imposed in Victoria under the OHS Act.

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