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ARTICLE · 27 NOVEMBER 2018

Fair Work Commission orders compensation for distressing employment termination

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Discussion of recent case where employees were awarded compensation for distressing employment termination.

AustraliaEmployment and HR
Jenny Humphris
Jenny Humphris
Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke
Alex Buck
Alex Buck
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The Fair Work Commission has ordered that compensation be paid to three employees of an Indigenous Corporation for the distress caused by their employer asking that they prove their connection to the local traditional owner group.

Background

The case concerned an application for adverse action under the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) (FWA) made by Mr and Ms Roos and Ms Dargan (the Employees) against their employer, Winnaa Pty Ltd (the Employer).

The Employees claimed that they were part of the Barada Barna People and were employed by the Employer in the role of cultural heritage field officers tasked with identifying sacred sites and artefacts for various projects.

On 12 August 2016, the Employer dismissed the Employees on the basis that they had failed to prove ancestral connection to the Barada Barna People, the local traditional owners, after being requested to do so by the Employer on a number of occasions. The Employer had requested that the Employees prove

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