SA Boss Banned Hugging at Work - Legal under Employment Law?

[Tomh]

A friend of mine has told me today that Hugging has been banned at work, Largish company employing over 100 personal from Australian and several other ethnic backgrounds including Europe Asia etc , A lot of these employees have worked there for many years and have developed close friendships.

My question is: Is this legal under employment law?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Ivy]

Hi Tom,

Employers do have a certain amount of freedom to create workplace policies as long as they aren't inconsistent with another law.
I cannot think of a law that would be inconsistent with this workplace's policy. To the contrary, the employer may be taking positive action to help prevent instances of harassment or unwanted touching that could result in sexual harassment claims. Additionally, in consideration of the range of cultural backgrounds in the workplace, the employer may be trying to be mindful and respectful of different personal boundaries by creating a uniform rule.

The rule may cause some annoyance to work colleagues who are close, however I don't believe it is in breach of any law.

 

[Tomh]

Hi Tom,

Employers do have a certain amount of freedom to create workplace policies as long as they aren't inconsistent with another law.
I cannot think of a law that would be inconsistent with this workplace's policy. To the contrary, the employer may be taking positive action to help prevent instances of harassment or unwanted touching that could result in s*xual harassment claims. Additionally, in consideration of the range of cultural backgrounds in the workplace, the employer may be trying to be mindful and respectful of different personal boundaries by creating a uniform rule.

The rule may cause some annoyance to work colleagues who are close, however I don't believe it is in breach of any law.

Thank you for your clarification.