Cottoneyes
14-09-2011, 01:23 PM
I've got a friend who has recently had the good news of finding out they are expecting their first child.
It turns out that this friend will need to commence their mat leave just prior to the end of their 12 months service and when they advised their manager, were advised that they would be required to resign when the time came.
The organisation in question is of a medium size (approx 500 employees) and there have been other cases where employees with less than 12 months service have not been requested to resign, but been allowed to take mat leave of 12 months and then return to work, with the most recent cases having been after the introduction of the Fair Work act, one such case involved an employee who was 3 months pregnant when offered the role and it was not known by the organisation.
The friend and the worker with the precedent have different roles, however both would be classified as professional and are on a similar grading.
Despite the ruling contained within the Fair Work Act being in place, does this person have any grounds to challenge this direction to resign due to the precedents already in the company?
It turns out that this friend will need to commence their mat leave just prior to the end of their 12 months service and when they advised their manager, were advised that they would be required to resign when the time came.
The organisation in question is of a medium size (approx 500 employees) and there have been other cases where employees with less than 12 months service have not been requested to resign, but been allowed to take mat leave of 12 months and then return to work, with the most recent cases having been after the introduction of the Fair Work act, one such case involved an employee who was 3 months pregnant when offered the role and it was not known by the organisation.
The friend and the worker with the precedent have different roles, however both would be classified as professional and are on a similar grading.
Despite the ruling contained within the Fair Work Act being in place, does this person have any grounds to challenge this direction to resign due to the precedents already in the company?