Geelong's Bellarine Court aged care facility was taken to the Federal Court by the Fair Work Ombudsman when Carolyn Jelcic, a personal care assistant returned to work 12 months after having her second child. She had previously worked six afternoon shifts and one sleepover a fortnight; on returning she was just offered sleepovers which she couldnt do because of her new child. The employer regarded this as a resignation. The operator, A Dalley Holdings was fined $27,720 and manager and part-owner Andrew Dalley, was fined $3168. Carolyn Jelcic won $5000 compensation. The penalty was the highest achieved by the Fair Work Ombudsman for a discrimination based case since it acquired its powers (2009). Its the fourth successful prosecution for pregnancy discrimination.
Opinion
RIP: We are seeing the death of the family-run aged care operator
It feels like I am writing an obituary to family-run aged care facilities. Once the backbone of the sector, multi-generation operators are now selling out at a pace not seen before. The sell-off is accelerating, with three landmark deals in just two...
