Identify the main legal issue or issues of janet case

Assignment Help Case Study
Reference no: EM131006988

The Case-

Widgets & Gadgets Manufacturing Company (W&G) is a large employer that manufactures components for industrial machinery in the Newcastle area. The production line runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The shortest breakdown of the production line could potentially cost W&G thousands of dollars. Approximately 70% of the workforce is male.

Janet worked as a maintenance engineer at W&G. Her role was to ensure that the production equipment was properly maintained and to be available in the event of any breakdowns. Janet had worked for W&G for about 10 years. She took parental leave in 2010 and, on her return, was reinstated to her previous position.

Under its Enterprise Agreement, maintenance engineers are required to be available to do regular week-end work under a roster system. Janet was therefore part of a roster system with 2 other engineers (both male) who were all required to work on one weekend out of every three. On the weekends Janet was rostered to work overtime she was required to be at her place of work for three hours on Saturday and three hours on Sunday. The hours could be worked at any time on Saturday and Sunday, either in a block of three hours or broken up around other activities as the engineer desired. In addition, the engineer rostered on had to remain ‘on-call' in case of emergencies and could be called in at any time. It was a flexible situation for both the engineers and for W&G.

In addition to the formal roster which was kept by management, there was an informal roster system in place where the engineers voluntarily swapped week-ends amongst themselves by agreement. Put simply, the management of W&G did not care who worked the week-ends, it just wanted it worked by someone on the roster.

Janet approached her Manager, Adam Smith, because she felt she could no longer work week-ends at all because of her parenting responsibilities. Mr. Smith argued that Janet could not refuse to undertake the required week-end work because it was an essential part of the job. In addition, Mr. Smith felt that it was up to Janet to cooperate with the other two engineers to ensure the roster was covered. Further, he considered that it would be unfair to always rely on the other two engineers to cover the week-ends.

Up until this time, the informal roster arrangements between the three engineers had always been done on a friendly basis. The three engineers had always agreed to cover for one another whenever one of them could not do their formally rostered week-end. Things, however, began to change. The other two engineers began to insist that Janet work to the formal roster.

Janet struggled to do this for several week-ends. Then, on one of the week-ends Janet was scheduled to work, her husband was away and Janet approached the two other engineers and asked if one of them could work her week-end because she had no-one else to look after the baby. They both refused and said that if she wanted to be an engineer then she had to act like one.

Janet again approached Mr. Smith complaining that the other two engineers were not being cooperative. Mr. Smith stated: "you're all grown-ups - work it out between the three of you". Over the next few months Mr. Smith and the two engineers repeatedly demanded that Janet work to the roster. In the space of one week, Mr. Smith approached Janet on five separate occasions demanding she cooperate and either work flexibly with her colleagues or works the formal roster. He suggested that she was responsible for disrupting the collaborative culture of the workplace and indicated that if she could not work her roster, then she should resign. Janet's engineer colleagues began to tease her about her ‘motherly' ways and complain to her that she was putting her family ahead of her job.
Janet started to feel extremely pressured and eventually resigned.

Your assignment is to assess whether and on which grounds Janet could submit an anti-discrimination case to the Federal Circuit Court of Australia based on the following two different assumptions:

1. Her husband's work requires him to work weekends.

2. Her husband does not work weekends.

Only use relevant anti-discrimination law(s) to analyze your case.

The following criteria will be used for marking the assignment.

Part 1: The Issue/s - Identify the main legal issue or issues of Janet's case.

Part 2: The Law - Name the relevant federal (Commonwealth) legislation that pertains to this case and list the applicable clauses in that legislation.

Part 3: Applying the Law -

a) Apply all the clauses of the legislation you identified in Part 2 to Janet's case.

b) Identify and apply appropriate legal cases to support or refute a finding of the issue or issues you identified in Question 1.

Part 4: Conclusion -

a) Based on your answers to Part 3, draw a conclusion on the likely outcome of this case if it were to be heard by the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia. In no more than 200 words explain your reasoning.

b) Using one similar case, identify what might be the likely remedy (if any).

c) Citing relevant clauses of the legislation, identify who would be potentially liable.

Reference no: EM131006988

Questions Cloud

What are the most significant effects on the organization : Using an example analysis of poor organization design from your own experience, what are the most significant effects on the organization? What might be the best way to make an improvement to the organizational design? What positive result would ..
Identify at least one enabling factor : In this unit's readings, Huxham and Vangen acknowledge seven common perspectives on the challenges to collaboration. Hansen and Nohria describe four types of obstacles. Select two factors that collaborative partners confront and suggest steps coll..
How much is the net profit margin : Using the gross method of recording sales, what sales price should be recorded when an item with an $1,100 list price is sold with a 15% trade discount? The sales invoice includes the terms 2/10, n/30?
The transaction cost theory and rational system theory : Organizations run on theories as it helps the organization develop the big picture. The theories in organization are broken into seven different categories this included the following? The Transaction Cost Theory, Rational System Theory, Contingen..
Identify the main legal issue or issues of janet case : The Issue/s - Identify the main legal issue or issues of Janet's case. The Law - Name the relevant federal (Commonwealth) legislation that pertains to this case and list the applicable clauses in that legislation
Find the area of the surface correct to four decimal places : Find the area of the surface correct to four decimal places by expressing the area in terms of a single integral and using your calculator to estimate the integral.
Falsification of bank records : The investigation led to termination of the clerk on the grounds that her inadvertent use of her coworker's name was "falsification of bank records." The clerk would not have profited in any way from using her coworker's name on the form. She had ..
Analyze the historical practice of diplomacy by states : Analyze the 2 case studies of the 2 combatant commanders relieved for policy differences. Defend either side's conduct by the use of examples.
General manager of a new assisted-living facility : An employee was hired as general manager of a new assisted-living facility. For several months, she received positive feedback on her progress. At a meeting, two supervisors inquired about her child-rearing plans. She admitted that she planned to ..

Reviews

Write a Review

 

Case Study Questions & Answers

  What is the relationship between discounting and compounding

Calculate the amount of money that Sharon needs to set aside from her bonus this year to cover the down payment on a new car, assuming she can earn 6 percent on her savings. What if she could earn 6 percent on her savings?

  Create a query to shoe each activity cost

Create a query to shoe each activity cost and total cost for each of the four orders. Present the query in screenshots of both design view and table view in MS Access.

  Explain the mode of action for digoxin

Explain the mode of action for digoxin and review the side effects of digoxin; looking at the above scenario - discuss aspects of Mrs A's history that may be related to these side effects.

  Is the cell phone changing our views about polite behavior

Is the cell phone changing our views about polite and impolite behavior? For example, is it polite for someone to be talking on their cell phone while ordering a drink at Starbucks?

  Should children be prevented from accessing some web sites

Should children be prevented from accessing some Web sites? Who should be responsi- ble for the actions of children sur?ng the Web?

  How does this increase a leaders global competence

Discuss the role of coaching for organizational leaders and is it primarily to improve what leaders do (behavior) or to improve who leaders are (purpose)?

  What are the pros and cons of the current highway

What are the pros and cons of the current highway funding structure as related the taxes paid by motor carriers? How do you think sustainability efforts by Walmart will impact the larger logistics industry?

  What did you learn from your experience

Have you ever gone camping or had another experience where you went for at least a few days without access to a phone, radio, television, or computer? (In other words, there was no communication between you and the outside world.) What did you lea..

  Case study - women on the right track at cp rail

Case study - Women on the Right Track at CP Rail, Compare CP Rail's initiatives to advance women with the recommended six-step program for the implementation of employment equity

  Case study: competitive strategy at sportsman shoes

Following Sportsman's shift in competitive strategy, what are some considerations for the company's human resource management practices?

  Explain project integration management

Green Computing Research Project. Prepare a project charter for the Green Computing Research Project.

  What would be the portfolios expected rate of return

Calculate the expected rate of return on each of the four alternatives and based solely on expected returns, which of the potential investments appears best?

Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd