Bridgeman Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I am posting this for a colleague. We have just been given our yearly salary increases (%). The increases are supposedly performance related and at the manager's discretion. A woman colleague has just been told by her manager that she will only receive half the percentage increase that everyone else received as she has only worked half the year since she did not return from maternity leave till January. I know they do things differently here and in the UK this would be viewed as discrimination but surely this can't be right?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicolac34 Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 I have no idea on an offical level. Personally I think its pretty poor, but really doesn't surprise me when it comes to what Australian employers will try and get away with! Do they actually want to keep her working for them? Because I'd be tempted to tell them to stick it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckleface Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 If it is a performance payment or bonus it is totally fair as it is based on performance and if she wasn't there she wasn't contributing. There is nothing discriminatory about it. The fact she was on mat leave is irrelevant - the same would have happened to someone on long service leave or similar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MicheleW Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 That doesn't sound any different to companies I worked for in England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bridgeman Posted August 1, 2012 Author Share Posted August 1, 2012 If it is a performance payment or bonus it is totally fair as it is based on performance and if she wasn't there she wasn't contributing. There is nothing discriminatory about it. The fact she was on mat leave is irrelevant - the same would have happened to someone on long service leave or similar. Hmm, doesn't explain why another colleague doing a similar job and who only returned in February from a year's sabbatical to go travelling got the full percentage. If it's performance related it should be judged on the performance she has given while she has been there. The law says that she should not be disadvantaged by being on maternity leave and it seems to me that this is what's happened. Surely 'performance' relates to how you are performing at the moment - it's not based on 'productivity' over a full year. It's also not very motivating. Why should she put in extra effort, which she has been doing, even taking work home to meet tight deadlines, if she is not going to be rewarded for it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freckleface Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Hmm, doesn't explain why another colleague doing a similar job and who only returned in February from a year's sabbatical to go travelling got the full percentage. If it's performance related it should be judged on the performance she has given while she has been there. The law says that she should not be disadvantaged by being on maternity leave and it seems to me that this is what's happened. Surely 'performance' relates to how you are performing at the moment - it's not based on 'productivity' over a full year. It's also not very motivating. Why should she put in extra effort, which she has been doing, even taking work home to meet tight deadlines, if she is not going to be rewarded for it? Personally I think there is a piece of puzzle missing - however if she thinks she has been discriminated against she should approach the Fair Work Ombudsman. Although she would want to be pretty damn sure she can back up her claim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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