Key Points:
When an employee makes a complaint, employers must be
careful in subsequent dealings with the employee to ensure that
they are not treated detrimentally as a result of the
complaint.
In Correy v St Josephs Hospital Limited [2009] NSWADT
40, the Administrative Decisions Tribunal considered whether a
nurse's rostering arrangements constituted victimisation under
section 50 of the Anti-Discrimination Act 1997 (NSW).
MsCorrey had worked as a nurse in the Palliative Care Unit
(PCU) of St Josephs Hospital for nine years before
going on maternity leave in 2004.
When Ms Correy was due to return, she requested that she be
rostered back in the PCU, but with reduced hours due to her
carer's responsibilities. Instead the Hospital rostered her to
work nine out of ten shifts in a different unit, the Aged Care
Psychiatric Unit (ACPU), a "locked ward"
to which Ms Correy raised an objection. Ms Correy had previously
told the Hospital that she had been involved in a
