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An employer unfairly dismissed a casual employee when it informed her by text message that further shifts were "on hold" shortly after she announced she was pregnant, the Fair Work Commission has ruled in ordering her reinstatement.
The SMS, in which Adecco Industrial Australia Pty Ltd reminded the employee she was not guaranteed any work, and said its priority was ensuring her safety, was "a mixture of people and culture puffery and lawyerly disclaimers", Deputy President Michael Easton said.
The employee had been on-hired to work as a pick packing associate at Amazon's Kemps Creek distribution centre in Sydney for seven months when, in May this year, she advised her employer she was seven weeks pregnant.
After she provided a medical certificate stating she was fit to work, but had to avoid stairs, bending, and lifting weights heavier than five kilograms, her upcoming shifts were cancelled...
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