The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has found that a dental practice directly and indirectly discriminated against a casual worker because of her status as a parent and carer.

Throughout 2020, COVID-19 restrictions in Victoria required students to learn remotely during school closures. As a parent herself, the employee began to reject shifts to assist and care for her children.

During this period, the dental practice contacted her stating that the business had recently employed a new permanent assistant and could no longer offer her shifts for stability reasons.

The casual employee reasonably believed that she was dismissed primarily because of her family and caring responsibilities, which is in breach of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic).

The dental practice argued that the employee was dismissed because of conduct issues. She had been spoken to years earlier about talking to other colleagues in a bossy manner and ignoring others, however no written warning was issued. The business believed an informal conversation would suffice, and the issues did not require formal disciplinary action.

In addition, the business wanted to retain other casual university students who were frequently available on weekends and school holidays, as they struggled to fill shifts during these periods. They suggested that had the casual employee been available frequently on weekends, she would not have been dismissed.

Decision

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal held that whilst there were conduct issues, the dismissal was substantially based around the employee’s family responsibilities and limited work availability.

The company breached sections 8(1) and 18(b) of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic), as the employee was treated negatively due to her status as a parent and carer.

She obtained that since she was on JobKeeper payments during this period, the cost of keeping her on the books was nil and there was no requirement to dismiss her.

The dental office contravened section 9(1) of the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) because it subjected the employee to unlawful indirect discrimination based on her parental status and caring responsibilities.

The casual employee was compensated with $10,000 for economic loss and an additional $2,000 for distress and humiliation.

Learnings for Business

This case highlights the importance of ensuring that employees are not discriminated against within the workplace as per the Equal Opportunity Act 2010 (Vic) and other relevant legislation.

How the Victorian Chamber can assist

For assistance on any aspect of your employment obligations, please call the Victorian Chamber Workplace Relations Advice Line on 8662 5222.

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