{"id":3534,"date":"2016-07-06T12:11:49","date_gmt":"2016-07-06T02:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplacetraining.com.au\/2021\/09\/11\/the-reasonable-person-test-explained\/"},"modified":"2021-09-11T12:12:02","modified_gmt":"2021-09-11T02:12:02","slug":"the-reasonable-person-test-explained","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplacetraining.com.au\/2016\/07\/06\/the-reasonable-person-test-explained\/","title":{"rendered":"The Reasonable Person Test Explained"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The \u2018reasonable person\u2019 test is one of those legal quirks that form an enduring part of the common law, despite being very hard to actually define. One human causing damage to another is certainly a tale as old as history itself. And judges in various forms have always had the task of determining if the damage caused was something that the \u2018damager\u2019 is liable to remedy. In a way, a bit of retrospective risk assessment has to be carried out by the courts in these cases. What exactly happened here? Who was involved? Was it an accident? Is anyone hurt? How can we fix things? Certainly, most torts (the kinds of acts or omissions that cause damage) are caused by pure accidents or mistakes.<\/p>\n

Yet it\u2019s never as simple as \u2018oh, look, a mistake was made \u2013 let\u2019s all move on\u2019. A more nuanced examination of the relevant circumstances and risks has woven its way into these types of legal cases, both in Australia and abroad. Due to the fact that within law the \u2018reasonable person\u2019 has a hypothetical presence in workplaces, schools, homes, streets and venues, it pays to understand the basic ideas and applications embedded within this legal standard. And in the context of workplace risks and potential litigation, it is particularly useful benchmark for employers and managers to keep in mind.<\/p>\n

DOES REASONABLE MEAN AVERAGE?<\/h3>\n

The short answer to this is \u2013 no. Using allegory to pin down this tricky concept, judges since the 19th Century have variously named the fictitious reasonable person (then always a man) \u2018the man on the Clapham omnibus\u2019. In Australia\u2019s case, NSW courts modified this to \u2018the man on the Bondi tram\u2019, while in the matter of Re Sortirios Pandos and Commonwealth of Australia, the \u2018man on the Bourke St tram\u2019 made a Victorian appearance. These descriptions are certainly a good starting point for determining what a reasonable person would have done during the risky event that caused the damage. But the \u2018reasonable person\u2019 is actually a little better than the \u2018average\u2019 one. He or she will be quite risk-conscious, a little careful with activities, and very thoughtful when it comes to looking out for possible risks and dangers. Yet the courts never endowed our fictitious reasonable person with 20\/20 hindsight. In considering whether a person was harmed by the actions or inactions of another, decision-makers will take into account the circumstances and available information that existed at the relevant time. Our reasonable person is certainly quite prudent \u2013 but not invincible.<\/p>\n

THE \u2018REASONABLE PERSON\u2019 IN THE WORKPLACE<\/h3>\n

Risky and unfortunate situations arise everywhere in life – and of course the workplace is no exception. Injuries happen, enmity arises, harassment can occur, and unwanted advances are made. And the possibilities for damage, loss and distress to workers, contractors, visitors and clients are so extensive that some days, business owners can question their decision to open the doors! Yet in remembering the careful and prudent ways of the \u2018reasonable person\u2019 when it comes to workplace risks, employers can successfully prepare for and respond to hazardous scenarios. Importantly, remember that \u2018action\u2019 by an employer also includes \u2018inaction\u2019. Turning a blind eye to harassment between co-workers, putting off fixing the air conditioner in summer due to cash flow, and forgetting to wind up the extension cord in the hallway are the sorts of omissions that our \u2018reasonable person\u2019 in your situation wouldn\u2019t neglect. Positive actions to prevent harm, such as sexual harassment training and reasonable warning of organisational changes, are examples of the way the \u2018reasonable person\u2019 carries on their business.<\/p>\n

Going forward, make a rolling risk assessment part of your \u2018reasonable\u2019 workplace strategy. \u00a0\u00a0WISE Workplace can assist with independent investigations and expert advice.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Content retrieved from: http:\/\/www.wiseworkplace.com.au\/_blog\/WISE_Blog\/post\/the-reasonable-person-test-explained\/<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The \u2018reasonable person\u2019 test is one of those legal quirks that form an enduring part of the common law, despite being very hard to actually define. One human causing damage to another is certainly a tale as old as history itself. And judges in various forms have always had the task of determining if the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[231,109,269,349,287],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplacetraining.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3534"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplacetraining.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplacetraining.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplacetraining.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplacetraining.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3534"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplacetraining.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3534\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplacetraining.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3534"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplacetraining.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3534"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wiseworkplacetraining.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3534"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}