The Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Act 1998 ("the Act") prohibits discrimination on the basis of pregnancy, including child bearing capacity. Pregnancy discrimination occurs when a woman is treated less favourably than another person because of her pregnancy.
The Act prohibits pregnancy discrimination in the following areas:
Direct discrimination takes place if a person treats another person on the basis of pregnancy, or imputed pregnancy, less favourably than a person who is not pregnant or does not have a characteristic associated with pregnancy.
For direct discrimination to take place it is not necessary that:
Example of direct discrimination:
Julia is four months pregnant and notifies her boss that she intends to take 12 months maternity leave. Julia's boss immediately removes a number of her duties, even though she is capable of performing her full duties. Julia's boss tells her that "your position has been changed because you will be leaving soon and are clearly not committed to your job". Julia is very upset by this, so she decides to lodge a complaint of discrimination on the basis of pregnancy.
Indirect discrimination takes place if a person imposes a condition, requirement or practice, which is unreasonable in the circumstances and has the effect of disadvantaging a member of a group of people who share the attribute of pregnancy more than a person who is not a member of that group.
Employers have the same responsibility to all employees, pregnant or not, to provide a safe working environment.
There may be some situations in which changes need to be made to ensure a pregnant woman can work safely. Many industrial relations laws and awards and agreements allow a woman to request a transfer to a safer job if there is a risk to her or the baby's health.
Employers should:
If employees are concerned about their health or safery during pregnancy, they should talk to their GP or Workplace Standards Tasmania.
Parental leave is the general term covering maternity, paternity and adoption leave. Parental leave is usually unpaid leave (of up to 52 weeks) and is available for all eligible workers under the Fair Work Act 2009. Employees may also be entitled to paid parental leave. Employees are entitled to take time off work, without having to resign, to care for their child during the first year of his/ her life. However, depending on the award or agreement, entitlements can vary, so it is important to check.
To be eligible for unpaid parental leave, an employee must have been working continuously with their employer for 12 months by the expected date of birth/placement for adoption or be an eligible casual employee. Both parents can share parental leave; however there may be some limits on both parents being on leave at the same time.
Although the rules can vary, generally an employee should give 10 weeks notice that she wishes to take materniry leave then confirm start and end dates 4 weeks before she wishes to start leave. If in doubt check the award or agreement.
Pregnant employees will need to give their employers a medical certificate stating the expected date of birth, and may need to state that they will be the baby's primary caregiver.
Employees have the right to extend their unpaid leave once, but only to the maximum period of 52 weeks. Any further changes to leave arrangements must be agreed between the employee and employer.
Upon returning to work, employees are entitled to the same job they had before going on leave. If the job no longer exists, employees are entitled to a job that is comparable in pay and status.
The Office of the Anti-Discrimination Commissioner provides training and education on discrimination and prohibited conduct covered by the Act.
For more information on training see our Education and Training page or contact our training staff to discuss your training and education needs (03) 6233 4841.
