(Transcript from World News Radio)
The Federal Circuit Court in Brisbane has imposed a fine of nearly $30,000 on two Thai restaurants on the Gold Coast over their conduct towards an employee.
The court case came after the worker was told his employment would be terminated on his 65th birthday, despite having had a good employment record at the restaurants over many years.
Michael Kenny reports.
The employee at the centre of the court case had worked for the Thai restaurants at Broadbeach and Surfers Paradise since 1996.He was puzzled when his employer told him he would only be permitted to work on a part-time basis once he returned from long service leave in 2011.
He subsequently received a letter explaining the company did not employ staff over the age of 65 years.
In its first ever litigation over aged-related discrimination since it was set up in 2009, the Fair Work Ombudsman has successfully argued that the Queensland restaurant owner acted unlawfully.
Ombudsman Natalie James says she hopes the court ruling can act as a powerful precedent and help to combat discrimination on the basis of age.
"Certainly I think it tells us that age discrimination is something that needs to be taken very seriously and people need to understand that we will act on blatant conduct like this and I would also encourage workers that if they feel that they have suffered discrimination, that they should come to the Fair Work Ombudsman."
Under the Commonwealth Age Discrimination Act, it is unlawful to refuse employment or deny a worker a promotion on the basis of their age.
The business lobby group, Diversity Council Australia, says it is coming across growing cases of aged-related discrimination in the nation's workplaces.
A council spokeswoman Lisa Annese believes some employers are wrongly assuming that older employees can't keep up as well with the latest developments in technology and then fall behind in their jobs.
"It's really about the youth-centric nature of our culture and perceptions about the capability of older workers. Age is one of those dimensions of diversity that most people should be able to understand because we all get there unless we face an untimely death. So you'd imagine that there should be more empathy for that particular group. But unfortunately they seem to be quite an invisible sector of our economy."
Age Discrimination Commissioner Susan Ryan believes the problem is likely to become more noticeable as the population ages and medical advancements lead more Australians to work til an older age.
She says the Australian Human Rights Commission is working alongside employer organisations to bring about a cultural shift in attitudes towards older workers.
"Many employers still have the view that people slow down, that they become resistant to change, that they might have more sick days or more serious health issues and yet the research we have shows that that's not the case. It shows that older workers have fewer sick days than younger workers and fewer workplace accidents. So that basic misconception which is in the minds of many employers really needs to be addressed."
Susan Ryan says there is a particular need to promote the message about aged-related discrimination in community languages.
She believes many older workers from a non-English-speaking background are often reluctant to speak out about discrimination because of language or cultural barriers.
But Ms Ryan says these workers often find themselves in a particularly vulnerable position because they can end up being discriminated against, not only based upon their age, but based upon their racial background as well.
"Often our migrants to Australia don't have the same confidence to use the law to protect them or they may not be as knowledgeable about how to make a complaint about aged discrimination."
Ms Ryan says similar obstacles may be faced by older Indigenous workers, especially those whose first language is not English.
Lisa Annese from Diversity Council Australia believes the recent court case involving the Queensland restaurant worker has highlighted a real need for better public awareness campaigns around age-related discrimination.
"A lot of Australians don't understand Australian workplace laws. It never really ceases to amaze me when I see job applications where people still put their age or their date of birth on it. Obviously they don't realise that you don't need to do that. I think there is a real lack of knowledge regarding certain types of Australian laws and I think age discrimination is probably one of them."
