Changes to the Fair Work Act to add discrimination protections

Amendments introduced to the Fair Work Act add further protections against discrimination in the workplace.

According to NB Employment Law, the last few years have seen an increase of 86.8 per cent in workplace complaints to the Australian Human Rights Commission.

In reaction to this, the Fair Work Act was recently amended, giving protections against the discrimination of breastfeeding, intersex status and gender identity.

Jonathan Mamaril, director at NB Employment Law, commented on the breastfeeding protections: “The changes require employers to make reasonable adjustments to accommodate employees who would like to breastfeed at work.”

“This includes providing a private space for employees to express milk, and allowing for flexible work arrangements so employees can care for their babies.”

Mr Mamaril said that these changes might create difficulties in implementation but, in the long run, will be beneficial to businesses and workers alike.

“While this adjustment will prove challenging for some organisations, particularly mid-sized businesses, others are seeing it as an opportunity. Forward-thinking call centre and customer service businesses have mobilised quickly to make their workplaces breastfeeding-friendly,” said Mr Mamaril.

“They are going above and beyond the policies and procedures detailed in the Fair Work Act and using it as a point-of-difference to attract mums who wish to breastfeed at work. It’s another example of what businesses are doing to attract and retain quality staff in today’s tight labour market.”

These changes will have a significant effect on protecting against discrimination in the workplace, said Mr Mamaril.

“The changes are relatively significant. It will force employers (if they don’t do so already) to actively take reasonable steps to prevent discrimination,” he said.

“For smaller organisations, the steps to take may be less commercial or practical to do so; however, the changes prevent adverse action being taken against employees.”

In regard to the intersex and gender identity protections, Mr Mamaril said these changes would force employers to be more progressive.

“What employers need to get on top of is their mindset. They may have certain views on gender identity, pronouns and the intersex protections – however, that is largely irrelevant. The law is clear that discrimination on the basis of an attribute around gender identity or intersex status is discriminatory,” he explained.

Mr Mamaril added: “As such, employers will need to [be] proactive, and people management training coupled with policy and process review is the starting baseline for all human resources teams.”

According to NB Employment Law, individuals found in violation of the anti-discrimination protections can face a fine of up to $16,500, and organisations can receive a maximum fine of $82,500.