The Federal Court found the employee was sexually harassed by her employer and victimised for complaining about his unlawful conduct
The Federal Court of Australia has ordered the owner of a fast-food franchise in Sydney to pay $305,000 in damages to a former employee after finding he sexually harassed and victimised her during her employment.
Justice Bromwich concluded that the manager engaged in repeated acts of sexual harassment, including making sexual comments, showing pornography, and touching the young worker with sex toys.
Most of the reported incidents took place on Sundays between mid-January and mid-February 2023, often while the employee was in or near the manager's car.
"I am therefore satisfied that [the employee's] allegations of sexual harassment arising from the Car Incidents on at least four of the five Sundays from 15 January 2023 to 12 February 2023 have been proven, again paying due regard to the seriousness of these allegations," Bromwich said in the decision.
"The content of [the employee's] evidence in relation to the Car Incidents makes it relatively easy to be satisfied that the conduct amounted to sexual harassment."
The employee, a Nepalese national in her early twenties, began working at the store in September 2021 and was promoted to manager in March 2022.
According to the court, the harassment escalated in January 2023 after the employer noticed a bruise — a "hickey" — on her neck.
He publicly joked about her...
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