Information for Employers

What the law says

It is against the law to treat an employee or potential employee less favourably because of a personal characteristic that is protected under equal opportunity laws in Victoria.

Discriminatory Attitudes

Discrimination comes from attitudes based on misconceptions and stereotypes about people. For example:

Age: An organisation won't employ people older than 45 years because they are "too slow" and "we want young guns, fresh ideas."
Sex: A woman is not given a promotion because "It's a very blokey culture. The other employees wouldn't respect a female supervisor."
Race: A worker from a particular racial background is given fewer shifts because "We don't want any trouble. People from that race always cause trouble."
Parental status: A business won't employ a mother because "she'll be too unreliable and have to stay home when the kids get sick."

Treating someone unfavourably because of a protected personal characteristic includes:

Refusing employment
Setting unfair terms of employment
denying or limiting access to promotion, transfer, performance bonus pay, training or any other benefits
Sacking, retrenchment or demotion

It is also against the law to have discriminatory and unreasonable workplace policies, practices and procedures that are difficult for an employee to comply with because of their personal characteristic compared to other workers.

Indirect discrimination

Care needs to be taken that less obvious forms of discrimination do not occur. Some requirements may appear reasonable but are in fact discriminatory. For example, requiring employees to speak and read fluent English may be race discrimination if speaking fluently is not necessary to carry out the job.

Sexual Harassment

Unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature that offends another person is likely to be unlawful sexual harassment. Sexual harassment does not just apply to physical behaviour or asking someone for sexual favours. Questions about a person's sex life, comments on physical appearance, and constant leering are all examples of sexual harassment. Sexually explicit emails or text messages and offensive pornographic posters or calendars are also forms of sexual harassment.