Bosses can be prohibited from discriminating towards employees as a result of they’re victims of home violence underneath modifications to be thought-about by parliament from September.
The proposed change means employers won’t be allowed to sack, demote, unfairly change rosters or minimize work hours of their employees on the premise that they’ve skilled home violence.
Unveiled by Employment and Workplace Relations Minister Tony Burke, the proposed change is a part of a wider set of commercial relations reforms that may also clamp down on labour rent, regulate the gig financial system and criminalise wage theft.
Speaking on the 2023 Kingsley Laffer Memorial Lecture on the University of Sydney on Thursday evening, Mr Burke mentioned “violence doesn’t discriminate and neither should the law”.
“That’s why these proposed changes are so important – ensuring that workers are not penalised in any way if they disclose that they have been subjected to family and domestic violence,” he mentioned.
Under the proposed modifications, employers can be expressly prohibited from taking opposed motion towards staff as a result of they’ve been subjected to household and home violence by making it a “protected attribute” underneath the Act.
Currently, Australia’s office legal guidelines stipulate that staff and potential staff are shielded from discrimination on the premise of a variety of ‘protected attributes’. These embrace race, intercourse age, marital standing, incapacity and sexual orientation.
It would even be unlawful for bosses to refuse to rent a potential worker on the premise that they’re a home violence sufferer.
Separately, the modifications would forbid settlement and awards phrases that discriminate towards home violence victim-survivors.
Calls for the federal government to stamp out discrimination towards home violence victims follows a ruling by the economic umpire in June {that a} pharmacy assistant was unfairly dismissed for accessing unpaid home violence depart to look after her nine-year-old son, who she alleged had been assaulted by her ex-husband.
The proposal follows the introduction of 10 days’ paid home violence depart as a part of the National Employment Standards for everlasting and informal employees.
Domestic violence helplines
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
