A full Federal Court has overturned a ruling that Sydney Trains unlawfully discriminated against a trainee driver it sacked for failing to disclose that she had ADHD and autism, finding a judge relied on a "number of interrelated assumptions" unsupported by evidence.
A UK IR tribunal has awarded a teacher £61,000 ($118,000) for disability discrimination and unfair dismissal, after her employer failed to make reasonable adjustments for symptoms of menopause and anxiety and then dismissed her for incapacity, but failed to consider suitable alternative roles.
The Electrical Trades Union is urging the Albanese Government to close gaps in privacy laws to stop resource employers routinely breaching workers' privacy with mandatory blood sampling before they are engaged, warning that the model is being promoted "as a standard step in the recruitment process in all industries in Australia".
Australia can learn from the "disappointing" under-utilisation of Spain's groundbreaking menstrual leave entitlement during its first year, due to fear of discrimination at work and the limitations of its model, according to an employment lawyer.
Autistic people need employment support and training, Autism-friendly workplaces and for employers to address hiring biases, according to the draft National Autism Strategy.
A court has ordered a cafe to pay a teenage worker $7300 compensation, including $6000 for hurt and humiliation, after it took unlawful adverse action because of his temporary disability when it dismissed him for calling in sick due to a chest infection.
Employment rights legal centre JobWatch says a client survey suggests most employers are failing to take internal complaints of workplace sexual harassment and discrimination seriously or to adequately protect employees, prompting recommendations to expand positive duty and vicarious liability provisions, and actively monitor compliance.
A tribunal has awarded $236,000 in damages, plus potential further lost earnings and interest, to a long-serving language teacher who developed a psychological injury when his employer "excluded" him from the workplace for two years after he suffered a debilitating spinal stroke.
Maurice Blackburn's head of employment and industrial law, Josh Bornstein, says damages for discrimination and harassment "remain persistently low" but he expects an upwards trajectory as their impact has been "laid bare" and expectations are now clearer.
In a significant decision on what constitutes a valid application, the FWC has allowed a general protections claim to proceed despite the worker submitting a blank form.
