A Ballarat-based heating and cooling company at the centre of a workplace bullying investigation will plead guilty to breaches of occupational health and safety.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Celsius Heating and Cooling appeared at the Ballarat Magistrates' Court on April 22 to answer two WorkSafe charges alleging a failure to provide a safe workplace.
The charges relate to an apprentice allegedly being exposed to the risk of mental injury posed by bullying and other inappropriate workplace behaviour between July 2022 and March 2023.
According to WorkSafe, the company is alleged to have breached the act by "failing to provide and maintain systems of work for identifying, reporting, investigating and stopping inappropriate workplace behaviour, including workplace bullying".
At Monday's hearing, the Celsius lawyer told the court the company intended to plead guilty to the charges.
The matter was adjourned to July 16, for a two hour hearing.
It comes after three of Celsius' former employees, Benjamin Foy, Liam Loftus and Aaron Devereux faced court on separate workplace bullying charges brought by the police.
Loftus and Devereux pleaded guilty to the charges, Loftus was fined and placed on a 12 month good behaviour bond and Devereux was given an 18 month community corrections order.
Foy will contest the charges, with his case to come back to court in May.
