We have recently been left with no choice but to file an equal opportunity complaint to the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission against the Royal Melbourne Hospital.
Extremely disappointingly, RMH has been refusing to properly accommodate the parental responsibilities of one of their employees, and have insisted that in order to be “fair”, they need to treat everybody the same.
Newsflash, that’s not what the law says.
Equal opportunity is fundamentally about recognising that some people’s needs are different, and they need to be treated differently accordingly. It’s about leveling the playing field to avoid unfair disadvantage on the basis of protected attributes.
It is unacceptable in this day and age that a large and sophisticated employer does not understand these obligations.
If you are in a similar predicament, and are being unfairly treated as a result of parenting responsibilities or any other protected attribute, then contact us to discuss it further.
