Resolved complaint (149) about racial hatred in employment
Learn how a complaint (149) about racial hatred in employment was resolved through conciliation.
Summary
- Year: 2024
- Relevant Act: Racial Discrimination Act
- Grounds: Colour; Ethnic origin; National origin/extraction; Race; Racial hatred
- Area(s): Employment; Other section 9; Racial hatred
- Settlement terms:
Compensation
Statement of regret - private
Training - anti-discrimination/EEO training reviewed/revised
- Settlement amount: $10,000
About the complaint
The complainant advises he is Afro-Caribbean and worked at the respondent telecommunications company. He alleged a manager casually used the term “n****r” and another manager referred to African people as “black c**ts”. He claimed he approached human resources on two occasions but there was no action taken on the first occasion and on the second occasion he was told to raise his concerns with the relevant manager directly. He claimed he was paid less than colleagues in the same role because he had raised concerns about the alleged racist conduct. The complainant said he felt he had no option but to resign. He said his last pay was reduced and commission revoked, but when he attempted to raise the issue, was told not to contact the company again.
The company denied discriminating against the complainant but expressed regret that he felt his internal complaints were not appropriately dealt with and that he did not feel comfortable in the workplace. The company said the alleged conduct by the managers was not consistent with its policies or expectations of workplace conduct. The company also acknowledged that, on review, the complainant's internal complaints were not appropriately dealt with under the appropriate policies.
The complaint was resolved with an agreement that the company pay the complainant $10,000 as general damages and write to him expressing regret that his complaints were not processed with the requisite gravity or in accordance with company policy. The company undertook to continue to focus on training its staff to foster a safe, inclusive and respectful workplace culture.
Guidance on the use of these summaries
This is a summary of a selected complaint that has been resolved through our conciliation process. It's designed to help people better understand how complaints might be resolved and what outcomes are possible.
These summaries are for general guidance only and are not legal advice. If you need advice about your situation, you should seek independent legal support.
Please note:
- all complaints are de-identified
- complaints are resolved on a 'without admission of liability' basis
- some content may include confronting or offensive language.
