Discrimination | Page 30 (364 items)

Two organisations have avoided being found vicariously liable for s-xual harassment committed by employees, after proving they had taken reasonable steps to prevent and manage the incidents.

It's time for HR professionals to get over any embarrassment they feel about discussing gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender employment issues, says former High Court judge Michael Kirby.

Assessing employees for redundancy on the basis of "subjective" selection criteria requires extra care to avoid adverse action and other claims, warns Freehills senior associate Natalie Spark.

With the introduction of new gender equality legislation imminent, a workplace lawyer has warned employers to ensure they are "walking the talk" in terms of providing equal remuneration and access to flexible work arrangements.

Since the introduction of the Fair Work Act, adverse action claims have become "the thorn in every employer's side", say Kemp Strang employment lawyers Lisa Berton and Nick Noonan.



Watch their presentation to learn:

• What adverse action is, and when it is prohibited;
• Who can bring adverse action claims, and the process involved;
• The types of scenarios and actions that increase employers' risk of claims;
• Individual liability risks for HR professionals;
• How to establish the strongest defence when facing a claim;
• Lessons learned from recent caselaw; and more.

Employers should provide training on all grounds of discrimination - especially the lesser-known ones - even if some don't apply to their jurisdiction, says People + Culture Strategies associate Kirryn West.

It's vital for any employer planning redundancies to develop its own selection criteria, says Freehills senior associate Natalie Spark. In this article she explains the "tips and traps" associated with the process.

Managers should be discouraged from seeking details about individual workers' disabilities and instead be focused solely on the reasonable adjustments needed to accommodate them, say HR leaders.

Most HR policies fail to deal with modern bullying, discrimination and harassment challenges - including after-hours misconduct and misuse of social networks - says workplace lawyer Brad Swebeck.



In this presentation, he and fellow Hicksons Lawyers partner Stewart Cameron outline:

• How to detect, prevent and manage bullying, discrimination and harassment;
• New psychological injury risks posed by misuse of social networks/media;
• What to include in bullying and harassment policies;
• Your rights and responsibilities when managing employees' out-of-hours behaviour;
• Appropriate responses to employee complaints;
• Lessons to be learned from successful claims brought against employers;
• How to defend spurious claims;
• How to avoid claims arising from performance management; and
• HR managers' liability for psychological injury under the existing and new OHS national framework.

The needs of mature-age employees are similar to those of many new parents or pregnant women in the workplace, according to a consultant for National Australia Bank, who recommends focussing on flexibility and recognition to accommodate older workers.