What Is Victimisation In The Workplace

Victimisation in the workplace is treating a person badly because they have made a complaint about discrimination or harassment, supported someone else’s complaint, given evidence in an investigation, or simply signalled that they intend to. It is unlawful in its own right under each of the federal anti-discrimination Acts, and that is the part employers most often miss.

It is a separate breach. An employer can be found to have victimised someone even where the original complaint was not made out. The two questions are decided independently, so responding badly to a complaint that turns out to be unsubstantiated still carries real exposure.

What it looks like in practice is rarely a dismissal. It is the quieter forms of retaliation. Being moved off good work or a key account. Losing flexibility that was never a problem before. Sudden performance management after a clean record. Exclusion from meetings, information or the team’s social life. A reference that turns lukewarm. Being labelled difficult or a troublemaker in the way managers talk about the person afterwards.

Related acts of victimisation also fall inside the positive duty under the Sex Discrimination Act, which means employers are expected to take reasonable and proportionate steps to prevent them rather than only to respond once they occur. In practice that means telling managers explicitly that retaliation is a breach, and checking in with the person who complained some weeks after the matter closes.

The Australian Human Rights Commission handles victimisation complaints under the federal Acts. This is general information rather than legal advice.

The articles tagged here cover victimisation at work and how to prevent it. To set expectations with managers, see Sentrient’s equal employment opportunity course and code of conduct training, or see how the workplace compliance system tracks completion.