Discrimination company apologises

A CRANBOURNE business has been found guilty of breaching discrimination laws after reducing a worker’s hours when she fell pregnant.
Shawna, which trades as Good Housekeeping Australia – Cranbourne, has now agreed to revamp its workplace policies and apologise and pay compensation to employee following the incident in 2011.
The company has agreed to the corrective actions under the terms of an Enforceable Undertaking it has entered into with the Fair Work Ombudsman.
The employee, a retail assistant in her early 20s, informed Shawna’s owner-operator Hui Zhou that she was pregnant in 2011.
Ms Zhou, a Chinese immigrant, then sent her a text message stating, ‘You have a baby now, and I can’t let you too tires’ (sic – ‘let you get too tired’).
Ms Zhou later told the employee – who was working 23 to 27 hours per week before becoming pregnant – that her work hours would be reduced to only seven per week and she could accept the change or resign.
The employee subsequently resigned, in what the Fair Work Ombudsman found was a ‘constructive dismissal’ of the employee under workplace laws.
Following a complaint from the employee, Fair Work inspectors investigated and the owner-operator admitted breaches after workplace laws were explained.
Under the Fair Work Act, it is unlawful to discriminate against employees on a range of grounds, including pregnancy, race, colour, sex, sexual preference, age, physical or mental disability, marital status and family or carer responsibilities.
As part of an Enforceable Undertaking, Ms Zhou has agreed to place an advertisement detailing the breaches in The Daily Chinese Herald newspaper to raise awareness of pregnancy discrimination laws among the Chinese community in Australia.
Ms Zhou has also agreed that her company will pay the employee $2000 compensation for economic and non-economic loss suffered, make a formal written apology to the employee and develop processes for ensuring future compliance with workplace laws,
Ms Zhou also agreed to commission annual professional workplace relations training for all Shawna directors for the next three years, and prominently display a public notice detailing its breaches of workplace laws at its business premises.
Fair Work Ombudsman Nicholas Wilson said there are a number of ways the they could achieve compliance with workplace laws, and these Enforceable Undertakings are a key mechanism.
“Enforceable Undertakings are an alternative to litigation and result in strong outcomes without the need for civil court proceedings,” he said.
“They work by companies signing up to undertakings that may include back-paying past and present workers, public apologies, donations to not-for-profit organisations and workplace training.
“They are an important part of our agency’s commitment to drive future compliance and help us remain confident we are upholding the provisions of the Fair Work Act.”
Employers or employees seeking assistance are urged to contact the Fair Work Infoline on 13 13 94 or visit www.fairwork.gov.au.