Discrimination and equity page 43 of 89

The FWC has recommended a large employer's human resources department do a better job of supporting employees returning after injury, noting a nurse's failed bullying claim demonstrates the difficulties workers face when HR is not properly involved.

An employer must pay a former worker more than $50,000 after a tribunal found it contributed to her post-natal depression by making her redundant just as she was requesting maternity leave.

An openly homosexual lawyer seeking damages against a leading west coast firm for alleged discrimination and harassment is set to have his case permanently stayed if he doesn't submit to a psychiatric examination within 28 days.

A 55-year-old former cabin crew manager is seeking $1.7 million in lost wages and super, plus future lost earnings until retirement and at least $200,000 in damages from Qantas for alleged sexual discrimination and harassment some 17 to 30 years ago, according to court documents the airline sought to keep under wraps.

The Federal Court will rule tomorrow on a Qantas bid to block access to documents lodged by a former employee who claims she has been subjected to s-xual and disability discrimination and s-xual harassment.

A senior FWC member has cited the ubiquity of "incomplete [or] incorrect" applications received by the tribunal in rejecting a regulatory body's $36,000 costs bid against a former employee who mistakenly claimed discrimination on the basis of s-x.

A worker sacked over performance and conduct issues has failed to establish a connection with his mental disability or that his employer took adverse action on the basis of his bullying complaints.

The FWC has upheld the sacking of a hospital operating theatre cleaner who spent 44% of his working time, excluding breaks, in a tea room, but has scolded the employer for its "faintly ridiculous" arguments against allowing him to "meticuously review" damning CCTV footage.

A Jehovah's Witness's ineptitude and expectation he should be treated "deferentially" at work, rather than any religious discrimination, resulted in his dismissal from a labouring job after seven weeks, a court has found.

A major gas supplier has been ordered to reinstate a left-handed worker whose primary duties involved lifting five-kilogram cylinders, after basing his dismissal on an assessment that right shoulder and neck pain meant he could lift no more than 20kgs.