Example Of Disability Discrimination In The Workplace

A common example of disability discrimination in the workplace happens before employment starts, in a process nobody thinks of as a decision.

A job advertisement lists requirements copied from an old template. A physical requirement that the role has not involved for years. A driver’s licence for a job that rarely requires driving. An online assessment with a strict time limit unrelated to the work.

Candidates screen themselves out, or are screened out automatically, and nobody ever considers whether an adjustment would have made the requirement irrelevant.

Because there is no visible decision and no rejected applicant to point to, this rarely gets recognised. It is still capable of amounting to discrimination.

Review job requirements against what the role actually involves now, not what the template said.

The Australian Human Rights Commission publishes guidance for employers. This is general information rather than legal advice, and obligations vary by state and territory.

See Sentrient’s recruitment management system and equal employment opportunity course.