Late last week, a "Perth Now" headline screamed "Six figure payout for WA executive who was demoted for being pregnant". The article reported that a former Woodside Energy executive had commenced Federal Magistrates Court proceedings alleging that on two separate occasions following her return to work after maternity leave, she was sidelined and denied promotions. She alleges that although her remuneration remained the same, she was placed in diminished roles.
So if an employee's remuneration remains the same, can diminished responsibilities or reduction of status really amount to a demotion? Absolutely!
Employers also need to comply with the "return to work guarantee" under the Fair Work Act or face a penalty up to $33,000. An employee returning to work is entitled to return to their pre-parental leave position. If that position no longer exists, the employee is entitled to an available position for which the employee is qualified and suited, nearest in status and pay to the pre-parental leave position.
So what of that reported "six figure payout", which according to the employee's lawyer, was one of the largest settlements of a discrimination claim that his law firm had ever seen? Well, in an interesting postscript to the article, apparently Woodside Energy wasn't too happy with the inference that they had discriminated against the executive, so they pulled the plug on the settlement. They've decided to leave it to the Court to decide the merits of the claim. So stay tuned folks. Obviously, whether we'll ultimately get to hear what the Court thinks remains to be seen.
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