'Landmark' Fair Work ruling over family violence victim sacked after husband allegedly abused her

By Simon Lauder.

A ruling ordering a Melbourne firm to compensate a woman who was sacked after she was allegedly abused by her partner has been hailed as a landmark decision by a workers rights advocate.

The Fair Work Commission ruling relates to a woman who was allegedly abused by her partner and later dismissed by an architectural firm because her partner worked in the same open plan office.

This week, the commission found the woman’s dismissal was unfair, harsh, unjust and unreasonable.

It ordered the company to pay compensation to the woman.

In June last year, the Eliana Construction and Developing Group hired a new draftsperson.

She had moved to Australia from Iran with her partner in 2013 and he worked in the same office.

In January this year she was left in fear of her life after her partner abused her, the commission heard.

The police applied for an intervention order to protect the woman and exclude her partner from the home.

A magistrate amended the order so they could still work in the same office, but the partner was not to “approach or remain within three metres”.

Zana Bytheway from Jobwatch, the group that represented the woman, said instead of following the court order, the woman was sacked.

“The employer had an opportunity to see whether or not protecting the employment of both parties would work, but in this case chose to get rid of the victim of violence and retain the employment of the man,” she said.

The Fair Work Commission heard evidence that the director of the company told the woman that he could not “have them both working in the office in the same department” as he could not protect her from him.

The director also suggested the woman work from home and he told her he would not fire her partner.

The commissioner found the woman’s dismissal was harsh and unjust and that her only crime was to have a partner who worked in the same place and who was the subject of a domestic violence intervention order.

The company has been ordered to pay $27,000 in compensation.

Ms Bytheway said it was a landmark ruling.

“It makes a very important statement about the obligations and duties employers have in circumstances of domestic violence,” she said.

The case comes as the Fair Work Commission considers whether family violence victims should be entitled to extra leave.

Ms Bytheway said that would have helped to prevent this situation.

“She would have been able to organise herself and rearrange accordingly without the threat of ultimately being sacked,” she said.

A manager for Eliana said the company would not be making any comment about the decision.

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