Wide deed of release defeats valid disability discrimination claim

Key Points:

Phrases such as "employees, agents, servants and Related Entities" should be used with care.

A recent decision of the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia has provided a timely reminder that great care must be taken when drafting deeds of release, in particular identifying the claims to be covered.

In Matthews v Hargreaves (No.4) [2013] FMCA 4 Federal Magistrate Lucev found that although the applicant was successful in establishing that his employer discriminated against him because of his disability, the deed of release signed by the applicant provided a valid defence because of the "very broad terms" which operated as an "absolute release".

The alleged discrimination