4.1 Equal opportunity
Moyne Shire Council is committed to providing a workplace free from discrimination. Under commonwealth and state laws, discrimination in employment and workplace practices is against the law.
Equal opportunity in the workplace means.
- All employees have equitable and merit based access to jobs, opportunities, and training, regardless of irrelevant personal characteristics.
- There is no discrimination against anyone because of a personal attribute and all employees are treated with dignity, courtesy and respect.
Council will take all steps reasonable in the circumstances, to ensure no individual is discriminated, harassed or vilified as a result of the following attributes.
Protected attributes:
- age
- parental status or status as a carer
- disability
- employment activity
- expunged homosexual conviction
- gender identity
- industrial activity
- lawful sexual activity
- marital status
- physical features
- political belief or activity
- pregnancy and breastfeeding
- race
- religious belief or activity
- sex
- sexual orientation
- personal association with some who has, or is assumed to have, one of these personal characteristics.
Discrimination in the workplace takes place when a person or group is treated less favourably, or potentially may be treated less favourably than others in the same or similar circumstances. One or more of the above listed protected attributes is a substantial factor leading to that treatment, and this occurs in an “area of life” that is regulated by anti-discrimination legislation.
Direct discrimination occurs where a person with a particular characteristic or attribute is at a disadvantage compared to a person who does not have that attribute, under the same or similar circumstances.
Indirect discrimination occurs when a policy or practice that appears to be neutral actually results in a person with a particular attribute being unfairly disadvantaged.
Actions are not discriminatory if they are based on the inherent requirements of the position, or if the protected attribute is not a contributing factor in the action being undertaken.
Equal opportunity in the workplace means
- All employees have equitable and merit based access to jobs, opportunities and training, regardless of irrelevant personal attributes.
- There is no discrimination against anyone because of a personal attribute and all employees are treated with dignity, courtesy and respect.
4.2 Harassment
Harassment is defined as any form of unwelcome behaviour related to an aforementioned protected attribute in which a reasonable person in the circumstances would expect the victim to feel humiliated, offended, or intimidated.
Harassment can be perpetrated by:
- a co-worker (including a supervisor or manager)
- a customer or client
- a person known to the organisation or employee
- a stranger (intruder)
- a councillor or a member of a council appointed committee
- a volunteer.
Examples of harassment include, but are not limited to
- Demeaning references to a person’s age, racial background, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or other protected attribute.
- Downloading of displaying offensives material or objects.
- Yelling, screaming, swearing or similar behaviour directed at someone which intimidates, frightens, coerces or offends them.
- Whether the harasser intended to offend is not relevant. What is important is whether a reasonable person would anticipate that the other person would be offended.
Sexual harassment Moyne Shire Council has a stand-alone Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy PC001/2. Please refer for further information.
4.3 Bullying
Bullying is defined as repeated unreasonable behaviour directed toward an employee, or group of employees, that creates a risk to health and safety. Bullying can be overt or subtle, and it may be difficult to immediately recognise. It can be psychological or physical.
Examples of bullying may include, but are not limited to the following:
- abusive, insulting or offensive language, comments, gestures
- unjustified criticism or complaints
- imposing unreasonable work demands and deadlines
- exclusion of a person from workplace activities
- giving someone the majority of unpleasant or meaningless tasks
- deliberately withholding information that is vital for effective work performance
- humiliating a person through gestures, sarcasm, criticism and insults
- sniggering or gossiping about someone or spreading malicious or untrue rumours
- sabotage.
Bullying can be perpetrated by:
- a co-worker (including a supervisor or manager)
- a customer or client
- a person known to the organisation or employee
- a stranger (intruder)
- a councillor or a member of a council appointed committee
- a volunteer.
Moyne Shire Council expects all employees to behave in a professional manner and to treat each other with dignity and respect when they are at work.
What is not bullying?
Reasonable management action, carried out in a reasonable manner is not bullying or harassment, including situations of reasonable management practice such as:
- Setting reasonable performance goals, standards and deadlines.
- Allocating or rostering work in a fair way.
- Providing constructive feedback on work performance or behaviours.
- Following counselling or disciplinary policies and procedures.
- Modifying an employee’s duties or processes of work.
- Differences of opinions.
- A one-off incident.
- A non-aggressive interpersonal conflict.
4.4 Occupational violence
Occupational violence is defined as any incident where an employee is physically attacked or threatened in the workplace.
Within this definition
Threat means a statement or behaviour that causes a person to believe they are in danger of being physically attacked. This can include a statement of threat, intimidating body language, or intimidating gestures.
Physical attack means the direct or indirect application of force by a person to the body of, or to clothing or equipment worn by, another person, where that application creates a risk to health and safety.
4.5 Victimisation
Victimisation occurs where a person suffers or is threatened with any form of detriment after making a workplace complaint, supporting someone who has made a workplace complaint, or provided information as part of a workplace investigation.
4.6 Reasonable person test
The reasonable person test can put a behaviour into context and ensure that a decision about the behaviour does not rely on a decision maker’s own, perhaps limited perspective. A reasonable person is a hypothetical person who exercises average care, skill and judgement in conduct and who is a comparative standard.