Discrimination & Harassment
Discrimination is when a person treats another person differently because of one of the following traits:
- Race
- Colour
- Sex
- Age
- Physical or mental disability
- Parental or relationship status
- Family or carer’s responsibilities
- Pregnancy
- Religious belief
- Lawful sexual activity
- Trade union activity
Why discrimination is harmful for your business
Several remedies and penalties for unlawful workplace discrimination are identified under the Fair Work Act 2009 and Anti-Discrimination Act 1991 (Qld). These include a maximum penalty of $33,000 for every contravention for a corporation, and $6,600 for every contravention for an individual involved in a breach. The Court or Commission may also include orders for injunctions and reinstatement.
There are different ways a discrimination complaint can be lodged and companies should be aware of the potential issues workplace discrimination can cause to the productivity and finances of a business.
We provide practical advice to companies to prevent and identify workplace discrimination and assist to:
- Establish recruitment practices that comply with discrimination laws
- Ensure workers are educated and adequately trained to understand the various grounds upon which discrimination is unlawful
- Train managers to identify unlawful discrimination
- Develop and roll out policies and procedures which set adequate standards for workers in the workplace
- Deal with and defend complaints lodged by current and former employees regarding discrimination of an unlawful nature.
Workplace Bullying
Workplace bullying occurs when a person or group of people repeatedly behave unreasonably towards a worker or a group of workers and the behaviour creates a risk to health and safety. The Fair Work Act 2009 makes it very clear that bullying does not include reasonable management action carried out in a reasonable manner. Our team can assist in implementing reasonable management action strategies.
Workplace bullying may include any of the following negative behaviours:
Bullying in the workplace includes physical, verbal, social, or psychological abuse by an employer or co-worker. It can happen in any workplace from private companies and retail shops, to government offices. Workplace bullying is any unwelcome conduct that is repetitive, continuing, and persistent.
This includes:
- Hurtful remarks to an employee
- Aggressive or intimidating conduct
- Teasing, practical jokes or initiation ceremonies
- Displaying offensive material
- Exclusion from work-related events
- Spreading malicious rumours
