The Fair Work Ombudsman has launched further legal action alleging discrimination against a young employee on the grounds of her pregnancy. It is the fifth prosecution by the workplace regulator involving discrimination on the grounds of a woman’s pregnancy.
In the latest instance, a part-time shop assistant at Shepparton was allegedly discriminated against between December 2010 and April 2011 when she was allegedly directed to take two weeks unpaid leave after she became pregnant.
When the employee refused, her rostered hours were allegedly cut from an average of 26 hours to less than 10 a week.
The owner of the business allegedly told the employee it was a tradition that women in China do not work when they are pregnant and that she did not want her working.
It is alleged the employee was eventually told that no further hours of work would be offered to her, in what amounted to a constructive dismissal.
Under the Fair Work Act, it is unlawful to discriminate against employees on the grounds of pregnancy, race, colour, sex, sexual preference, age, physical or mental disability, marital status, family or carer responsibilities, religion, political opinion, national extraction or social origin.
Discriminatory behaviour can include dismissing an employee, threatening to dismiss an employee, reducing an employee’s hours, denying training and promotion opportunities or refusing to employ, promote or train an employee.
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