Question

Thomas is 62 years old and has been working as a paralegal for 6 years part-time for a law firm. Thomas doesn't have a written contract of employment and has not received anything in writing stating what the terms of his employment are. Thomas has also never received any training at work on law, instead he has just picked things up as he has gone along. Thomas has also observed that many of the other employees are working well beyond their contracted hours and that Alex, the paralegals line manager, required them to take leave as unpaid, including sick leave. Thomas is usually very punctual and rarely late or absent from work. Very recently however Thomas has been absent for work for a few days as he had been receiving medical treatment for ongoing health issues in connection with being HIV positive. On arriving to work Alex said to Thomas that his absence from work was not acceptable employee behaviour and she would take the lost time out of Thomas' pay. Later Thomas explained the basis of why he had been absent to Alex. Alex subsequently told the other paralegals working in the team that Thomas had AIDS and stopped including Thomas in the email inviting the paralegals out for 'Friday Drinks' and other social occasions. A week later Alex called Thomas into her office and told him she was dismissing him "because he had AIDS and therefore posed a health risk to other employees and the clients of the law firm". Question: Advise Thomas by identifying possible contraventions of employment law that this scenario poses and explain why?

Answer 1

The scenario described appears to pose several potential contraventions of employment law, including:

Lack of written contract: Thomas has not received a written contract of employment, which is required by law in many jurisdictions.

Discrimination: Alex's actions, including refusing to include Thomas in social events and ultimately terminating his employment because of his HIV status, appear to constitute discrimination on the basis of a protected characteristic (in this case, disability).

Unlawful deduction of wages: Alex's threat to deduct pay from Thomas' wages for his absence due to medical treatment may be a violation of employment law, as Thomas had a valid reason for the absence.

Failure to provide training: Thomas has not received any training for his job, which may be a violation of employment law in some jurisdictions.

Unpaid overtime: Alex requiring employees to work beyond their contracted hours without pay is likely a violation of employment law.

Thomas should seek legal advice and consider filing a complaint or claim against the law firm for the potential contraventions of employment law described above.