Visit your local supermarket and you will quickly identify the diversity of their workforce. Age, culture, religion and gender – there doesn’t seem to be any bias or discrimination. That’s what makes the 2014 case against Woolworths Supermarkets so important. They were found to be in breach of Queensland’s anti-discrimination laws.
At the time, Woolies used an online application form that asked for a candidate’s gender and age. These were mandatory fields so applicants were unable to complete or submit their application until they provided this information.
When defending the claim of workplace discrimination, Woolworths’ legal team argued:
1. Woolworths required information on each applicant’s age as some work could only be performed by people 18 and over.
2. The applicants’ gender was required in order to comply with the Commonwealth’s gender reporting requirements.
Unfortunately for Woolworths, their arguments were rejected. Under Queensland state legislation, employers must not ask for information that can be used for discriminatory purposes. In fact, the employer must demonstrate all requested information must be “reasonably required” for a non-discriminatory purpose.
Woolworths was required to pay a job-seeker $5000 in damages as a result of the discrimination claim. It may not seem like a large sum for such a huge organisation but it’s an expense most businesses would like to avoid.
Lessons Learned
In the Woolies case, the Court determined it is the phrasing of the question that determines discrimination. For example, instead of asking for an applicant’s age, the online application form could ask if the candidate is over 18yo.
Other potentially discriminating language includes common job ad phrases such as:
– Young, energetic team
– Recent graduate
– Native Japanese speaker
While it might be appealing to write your own recruitment ad to post on various platforms, there are many hidden pitfalls for employers. That’s why the End2End team assists our clients with all aspects of recruitment.
To discover how we could help you with your recruitment requirements, call End2End Business Solutions on 02 8977 4002.