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.
A heavy vehicle diesel mechanic who suffered a non-work-related wrist injury has won $44,000 in damages after his employer failed to offer reasonable adjustments and made "clumsy" and "ill-informed" attempts to re-engage him while awaiting "full clearance".
One of the world's largest gold mining companies should have taken a worker's stress levels into account before accepting a resignation prompted by an allergic reaction to eating a cake's icing, the FWC has found.
