Australian Human rights commission Act 1986
Say which act you are researching
say which company you have chosen and why like eg like vodafone , coles , woolworths any compnay of
our choice.
what are the companies policies in brief mention.
- Explanation of act i.e Australian human right commision act 1986
brief summery do not copy and paste.
who is the act designed to protect and what are the powers. - How does the act promote diversity in work force, give examples.
2
- diversity within the company you have chosen.
Australian Human rights commission Act 1986
Introduction
The study is aimed at evaluating the act that was enacted in Australia in 1986 concerning
the rights of human beings. To aid on the research of this paper, Woolworths Australia has been
chosen as the company in focus. Woolworths Australia was chosen because of the fact that its
employment policies and employee codes of conduct were easily available. It was also chosen
because of its dynamic employee policies and the inspirational example it has shown for equal
opportunity employment by its inspirational employment of people with disability, of different
races, genders, and ages.
Background information of Woolworths Company
The company operates under clearly outlined rules and regulations that govern how they
do their employee recruitment. In this code of conduct, employees are expected to demonstrate
high degrees of integrity, trustworthiness, and honesty at all times. They are also required to put
their best foot forward when they are representing the company even outside the working hour.
In addition, each employee is required not to engage in immoral behaviors like drug abuse
especially when they are at work. As a general rule, employees are required to use decent
language, behave in a decent manner and should not misuse company resources such as the
standard issue employee discount cards. In this digital year, they are also required to respect their
fellow colleagues and not harm then in any way by posting any malicious comments about them
or the company online.
The Australian Human Rights commission
3
The Australian Human Rights Commission Act was created in order to promote equal
rights and an acceptance of equal and fair treatment in the workplace. It was also mandated to
ensure the compliance of international covenants and declarations in which Australia is signatory
to. Its major role was to handle discriminatory complaints in Australia as covered by the federal
anti-discrimination legislation. Furthermore, the acts covered included the act that protects
people being discriminated on the basis of their race, sex, disability or age. The commission was
also mandated, however, with limited power to investigate and to conciliate complaints of
employment discrimination as covered by the ILO Convention Concerning Discrimination in
respect of Employment or Occupation.
The Act was, therefore, necessary to protect vulnerable people against discrimination on
the basis of age, color, race or nationality, religion, sex and sexual orientation, pregnancy,
marital status, social origin, criminal record, medical record, physical, mental, intellectual, or
psychiatric disability, and impairment of any kind, political opinions or even trade union
activities.
The act that protects the rights of human beings in Australia does so through the
encouragement of people from diverse backgrounds working together in several ways: It
contains within itself very strong provisions that support a diversified workforce and promotes
the reflection of the entire diverse Australian community in the workplace (Australian Human
Rights Commission Act, 2014). The section on the promotion of employment equity also goes on
to explain the need for the establishment of a diverse workforce. With regard to the fulfillment of
this Act, Woolworths limited is also committed to providing equal opportunities for all
employees in the workplace free from bullying, discrimination, and harassment.
Woolworths Limited role in protecting Human Rights
Woolworths limited offers equal employment opportunity to everyone is always in the
forefront championing for the protection of the rights of human beings. This is enhanced by the
company’s employment handbook which outlines clearly how each employ has to behave at the
work place concerning race, age, color, sex, sexuality, religious beliefs, political opinions and
disability. The company also opposes discrimination in any way including discriminatory
4
harassing and bullying behavior such as body language, gestures, verbal humiliation and even
sexual harassment. Physical molestation and the use of vilifying behavior such as inciting hatred
and inciting others to have contempt about other workmates attributes is strictly prohibited and
may result in disciplinary action and even termination of employment. The company also
ensures that every employee at Woolworths work by the principles of anti-discrimination with no
fear of retribution should any complaint be made on the grounds of discrimination.
Woolworths as a company is very strict in its rules and regulations and ensures that the
right of every worker is protected. The fact that the company has put effective anti-
discrimination strategies in place is a good practice, which is good for business as it improves
employee productivity and fosters a cohesive workforce. It also helps to build the morale of the
workforce and adds to the bottom line, thereby building the reputation of the company. A
discrimination-free work environment also ensures that employee turnover is reduced and the
best people are gotten for the job (Australian Human Rights Commission Act, 2014).
Conclusion
From the study, it is very clear that each human being is treated with the utmost respect
that they deserve. For instance, in a recent Australian census report that was conducted in 2011,
it was noted that many Australians have native origins abroad with more than fifty percent
arising from Europe and ten percent from Asia. In the 2011 census, 21.5 million Australians
were male, which represented 49.4 percent of the population, while 50.6 percent represented the
female gender. The census also noted that of all the population, the original Australians being of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander decent made up of 2.5 per cent of the population. In a
different 2012 disability survey, it was estimated that nearly 4.2 million Australians who
represented twenty percent of the population had a disability.
Furthermore, Australian Human Rights Commission Act has ensured that discrimination
at the workplace is reduced as much as possible in Australia. This has been done through
provision of strict rules that encourage gender equality at the work place. As a representative
measure, it is expected that in the Woolworths workforce, for example, should have a balance
between the genders with half of the workforce being male and the other half being female. Out
5
of a population of one hundred employees, twenty should be employees with a disability and at
least three should be of aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander decent.
Reference List
Australian Human Rights Commission Act (2014). Common wealth consolidated act.
