The first time a global client asked me for a template employment diversity form, I didn’t know what they were after.

They wanted to track their workforce’s diversity attributes (asking every person about race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disabilities, etc.) so that they could track performance on their broader diversity targets. This is typical practice

As the Australian Football League 2016 pre-season approaches, there is a lot of talk in the media about “list management” by clubs. This generally involves retiring or trading “older” players – usually over the age of 28.

It is often assumed – rightly or wrongly – that football players lose their athletic edge around this age. But is it fair – or legal –  to use age as a blunt proxy for performance?  There are players (like Dustin Fletcher of Essendon fame) that perform brilliantly into their late 30s and beyond.
Continue Reading AFL “list management” – a polite term for age discrimination?

The spectre of claims under anti-discrimination legislation (and the related media) appears to drive nervousness in some businesses. This is especially the case when dealing with longer term ill or injured employees. In this blog we make two suggestions about how to handle this issue in the context of non-work related illness and injury:

  • Be open and transparent with employees when determining what their illness or injury means for their ability to work, and
  • In deciding whether a business is required to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ in the workplace to enable a disabled worked to continue working, the inherent requirements of the role must be able to be identified with ease and precision.

These suggestions are discussed in more detail below.
Continue Reading Enabling the ‘disabled’ to work

Sometimes for boards, no news is bad news.

Improving safety statistics, workplace diversity reporting, industry remuneration statistics and ‘good’ employee turnover levels are ‘people’ matters that board members are usually informed about. But are there matters that Boards don’t hear about because their executives don’t want to trouble them with problems or be the bearers of bad news?
Continue Reading Director dashboard – is no news good news?

A recent decision of the Federal Circuit Court awarding a woman significant damages for the termination of her employment due to her pregnancy has resulted in some scaremongering but don’t go running for discrimination law advice just yet. The facts of the case are extreme and the general nature of the orders made by the Court are not novel in any way.
Continue Reading Award of over $200,000 in pregnancy discrimination claim – PANIC SLOWLY!