Resolved complaint (217) about age discrimination in employment

About the complaint

The complainant was 67 years of age and worked at the respondent winery. He alleged that during busy periods, the winery reduced his shifts in favour of younger workers. He said someone told him a person had approached the winemaker and questioned whether the complainant was too old to work at the winery and whether the winemaker should ‘get rid’ of the complainant.

The winery said that changes to the complainant's workload and days of work were based on the complainant's own wishes to retire, the operational needs of the business and the complainant's wishes on performing certain tasks and inability to perform other tasks.

The complaint was resolved by conciliation with an agreement that the winery pay the complainant approximately $5,300 and write to him acknowledging that consultation during his employment did not reflect best practice.

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.