Our specialist employment law solicitors deal with sex discrimination compensation claims arising in the Australian workplace for both men and women. Due to financial constraints our sex discrimination solicitors are only able to represent high skill professionals including managers, senior managers, professionals, executives, directors and senior civil servants. We also represent expatriate workers overseas who are employed by businesses based in Australia and foreign nationals working in Australia. Potential claims taken on by our employment solicitors include cases of discrimination based on sex, marital status, pregnancy or potential pregnancy, victimisation, harassment or bullying of a sexual nature.
Sexual discrimination is regulated by the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 which applies nationwide in Australia and in conjunction with the Sex Discrimination Amendment (Pregnancy and Work) Act 2003 prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, marital status, pregnancy or potential pregnancy.
It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee based on her pregnancy which is a form of sex discrimination and may consist of dismissal because of the pregnancy or because of taking leave or absences due to medical treatment. Pregnancy discrimination may also include bullying, harassment and reduced promotion prospects.
Victimisation or adverse action is a form of discrimination which occurs when an employee has made a formal complaint about the employer and is treated less favourably by either the employer or co-workers as a direct result of that complaint. The protection from victimisation or adverse action extends to situations where the victim is a witness in support of another co-worker who has complained about discrimination or harassment.
This is defined as ‘unwanted conduct of a sexual nature or other conduct based on sex affecting the dignity of women and men at work'. It is the recipient who decides whether the words or behaviour is offensive and such conduct is actionable if, having been rejected by the recipient, it continues. This type of behaviour may justify instant dismissal and may invite criminal proceedings.
Redundancy occurs where an employee is genuinely surplus to requirements however there are occasions where an employer attempts to manipulate the situation to ensure that a particular employee or class of employees is made redundant in an unfair manner. This may be an act of sex discrimination resulting in unfair dismissal which is actionable by a solicitor.
The Fair Work Act 2009 applies to employment disputes. The applicant must show that the dismissal was harsh, unjust or unreasonable and for a business with less than 15 employees, did not follow the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code. Unfair dismissal may take the form of sex discrimination.
This type of dismissal relates to the situation where behaviour in the workplace is so unpleasant that the applicant feels that they have no other sensible alternative than to terminate their own employment. The behaviour complained of may be of a sexual nature and be actionable by our employment solicitors as a sex discrimination case.
