Employment

Key employment rate changes for 2020/21

30 June, 2020

On 29 August 2019, the Federal Government released an exposure draft of its proposed Religious Discrimination Bill for public submissions (the Bill). The Bill seeks to establish a Commonwealth Act prohibiting religious discrimination.

The Explanatory Memorandum to the Bill states:

“This Bill will introduce comprehensive federal protections to prohibit discrimination on the basis of a person’s religious belief or activity in a wide range of areas of public life, including in relation to employment, education, access to premises, the provision of goods, services and facilities, and accommodation. This will ensure that all people are able to hold and manifest their faith, or lack thereof, in public without interference or intimidation”.

Protected “religious activity” is not specifically defined in the Bill but the explanatory note states that “expression of a religious belief” may be included.

In a similar vein to current Commonwealth discrimination legislation concerning race, sex, age and disability, the Bill prohibits both direct and indirect forms of discrimination as well as victimisation.

Direct discrimination will occur when a person treats, or proposes to treat, another less favourably than someone who does not hold the religious belief in circumstances which are not materially different. Indirect religious discrimination will occur in circumstances where a condition, requirement or practice is broadly imposed which is either unreasonable or disadvantages a person on the basis of their religion.

The debate

The draft Bill has its origins in the Religious Freedom Review headed by Phillip Ruddock. The review was established following debate surrounding the 2017 same-sex marriage legislation, wherein religious groups expressed their concerns that the legislation would prevent them from voicing their beliefs.

Advocates of the Bill argue that it provides much needed protections against religious discrimination in Australia, in line with the other Federal anti-discrimination laws already in place. The Bill will also consolidate the current piecemeal religious discrimination protections offered in some State and Territory legislation and give credence to Australia’s obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

However, those opposed to the Bill argue that the current legislative framework is sufficient, and that the Bill gives religious groups protections to lawfully discriminate against others. The latter argument is oft-cited, given the Bill’s origins during the same-sex marriage debate. Further, in light of Israel Folau’s unlawful termination claim (which we discussed in an earlier article) others have argued that the proposed legislation seems specifically tailored to providing those in a similar position recourse under Federal anti-discrimination legislation.

What does the Bill mean for employers?

Should the Bill be passed, and subject to any amendments arising from the public consultation process, it will have a number of impacts upon employers. Private company employers with revenue of at least $50 million in the current or previous financial year, will be most impacted by the legislation.

Company policies

Section 8 of the Proposed Act, dealing with indirect discrimination, contains a prohibition on private company employers with revenue of at least $50 million in the current or previous financial year, imposing an “employer conduct rule” which prevents an employee making a statement of belief outside of work. The imposition of any such conduct rule will be held to be unreasonable and discriminatory and will not be considered an inherent requirement of someone’s employment to be a justified form of discrimination. The Bill defines an employer conduct rule as a “condition, requirement or practice imposed by an employer on their employees or prospective employees, which relates to dress standards, appearance or behaviour of employees.” Such a condition might be imposed by an employer in a company policy document.

While the Bill provides that an employer can impose such a condition if it is necessary for them to avoid “unjustifiable financial hardship”, this is a very high bar. In proving this, the onus will be on the employer to demonstrate that the condition is necessary.

Notwithstanding, the prohibition against discrimination will not be imposed in circumstances where the statement of belief is malicious, or would harass, vilify, or incite hatred towards another person or group of persons, or would encourage conduct constituting a serious offence.

If the proposed legislation was in force, in cases such as Israel Folau’s, Rugby Australia’s Player’s Code of Conduct may have been held to be discriminatory and unreasonable unless they could prove the following:

the conditions imposed in the Code of Conduct were necessary under the “unjustifiable financial hardship” exception;
the post was made whilst Folau was performing work on behalf of Rugby Australia; or
the post was malicious or would (or was likely) to harass, vilify or incite hatred or violence towards homosexuals.

Accordingly, in applying the “employer conduct rule” provisions to the Folau case, it seems that the proposed legislation could render broadly worded company social media policies discriminatory.

Vicarious Liability

As with other Federal anti-discrimination legislation, employers may be liable for the actions of their employees in contravening the Bill unless it can be demonstrated that the employer took reasonable precautions and exercised due diligence to avoid the discriminatory conduct. Accordingly, it would be prudent for employers to implement programs educating staff about religious tolerance in the workplace in order to limit their liability.

Takeaways

Whilst still in its early stages, the Bill has the potential to restrict the ability for certain employers to influence employee conduct when they are not “performing work”. Moreover, the Bill will bolster the adverse action prohibitions in the Fair Work Act relating to discrimination on the grounds of a person’s religious beliefs. Since the Bill was released, the Australian Industry Group has called for an overhaul of the draft law before Parliament votes on the legislation. This overhaul is on the basis that businesses need to be able to maintain workplace standards of conduct, and to impose reasonable rules on employees using media platforms, “to prevent their reputations, their brands and other legitimate commercial interests being damaged”.¹

Accordingly, we will be watching the progression of the Bill with interest, and if passed, will be recommending that companies review their codes of conduct and associated policies to ensure that they are not at risk of infringing the employer conduct rule provisions, or otherwise allowing for indirect discrimination to occur.

¹ John Kehoe, ‘Business Fears Israel Folau Religious Freedom Law‘, Australian Financial Review (Article, 12 September 2019).

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Litigation and Dispute Resolution

Canadian Court elevates thumbs-up emoji to signature status

In June 2023, a Canadian Court in South-West Terminal Ltd v Achter Land and Cattle Ltd, 2023 SKKB 116, held that the "thumbs-up" emoji carried enough weight to constitute acceptance of contractual terms, analogous to that of a "signature", to establish a legally binding contract. Facts This case involved a contractual dispute between two parties namely South-West Terminal ("SWT"), a grain and crop inputs company; and Achter Land & Cattle Ltd ("ALC"), a farming corporation. SWT sought to purchase several tonnes of flax at a price of $17 per bushel, and in March 2021, Mr Mickleborough, SWT's Farm Marketing Representative, sent a "blast" text message to several sellers indicating this intention. Following this text message, Mr Mickleborough spoke with Mr Achter, owner of ALC, whereby both parties verbally agreed by phone that ALC would supply 86 metric tonnes of flax to SWT at a price of $17 per bushel, in November 2021. After the phone call, Mr Mickleborough applied his ink signature to the contract, took a photo of it on his mobile phone and texted it to Mr Archter with the text message, "please confirm flax contract". Mr Archter responded by texting back a "thumbs-up" emoji, but ultimately did not deliver the 87 metric tonnes of flax as agreed. Issues The parties did not dispute the facts, but rather, "disagreed as to whether there was a formal meeting of the minds" and intention to enter into a legally binding agreement. The primary issue that the Court was tasked with deciding was whether Mr Achter's use of the thumbs-up emoji carried the same weight as a signature to signify acceptance of the terms of the alleged contract. Mr Mickleborough put forward the argument that the emoji sent by Mr Achter conveyed acceptance of the terms of the agreement, however Mr Achter disagreed arguing that his use of the emoji was his way of confirming receipt of the text message. By way of affidavit, Mr Achter stated "I deny that he accepted the thumbs-up emoji as a digital signature of the incomplete contract"; and "I did not have time to review the Flax agreement and merely wanted to indicate that I did receive his text message." Consensus Ad Idem In deciding this issue, the Court needed to determine whether there had been a "formal meeting of the minds". At paragraph [18], Justice Keene considered the reasonable bystander test: " The court is to look at “how each party’s conduct would appear to a reasonable person in the position of the other party” (Aga at para 35). The test for agreement to a contract for legal purposes is whether the parties have indicated to the outside world, in the form of the objective reasonable bystander, their intention to contract and the terms of such contract (Aga at para 36). The question is not what the parties subjectively had in mind, but rather whether their conduct was such that a reasonable person would conclude that they had intended to be bound (Aga at para 37)." Justice Keene considered several factors including: The nature of the business relationship, notably that Mr Achter had a long-standing business relationship with SWT going back to at least 2015 when Mr Mickleborough started with SWT; and The consistency in the manner by which the parties conducted their business by way of verbal conversation either in person or over the phone to come to an agreement on price and volume of grain, which would be followed by Mr Mickleborough drafting a contract and sending it to Mr Achter. Mr Mickleborough stated, "I have done approximately fifteen to twenty contracts with Achter"; and The fact that the parties had both clearly understood responses by Mr Achter such as "looks good", "ok" or "yup" to mean confirmation of the contract and "not a mere acknowledgment of the receipt of the contract" by Mr Achter. Judgment At paragraph [36], Keene J said: "I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities that Chris okayed or approved the contract just like he had done before except this time he used a thumbs-up emoji. In my opinion, when considering all of the circumstances that meant approval of the flax contract and not simply that he had received the contract and was going to think about it. In my view a reasonable bystander knowing all of the background would come to the objective understanding that the parties had reached consensus ad item – a meeting of the minds – just like they had done on numerous other occasions." The court satisfied that the use of the thumbs-up emoji paralleled the prior abbreviated texts that the parties had used to confirm agreement ("looks good", "yup" and "ok"). This approach had become the established way the parties conducted their business relationship. Significance of the Thumbs-Up Emoji Justice Keene acknowledged the significance of a thumbs-up emoji as something analogous to a signature at paragraph [63]: "This court readily acknowledges that a thumbs-up emoji is a non-traditional means to "sign" a document but nevertheless under these circumstances this was a valid way to convey the two purposes of a "signature" – to identify the signator… and… to convey Achter's acceptance of the flax contract." In support of this, Justice Keene cited the dictionary.com definition of the thumbs-up emoji: "used to express assent, approval or encouragement in digital communications, especially in western cultures", confirming that the thumbs-up emoji is an "action in an electronic form" that can be used to allow express acceptance as contemplated under the Canadian Electronic Information and Documents Act 2000. Justice Keene dismissed the concerns raised by the defence that accepting the thumbs up emoji as a sign of agreement would "open the flood gates" to new interpretations of other emojis, such as the 'fist bump' and 'handshake'. Significantly, the Court held, "I agree this case is novel (at least in Skatchewan), but nevertheless this Court cannot (nor should it) attempt to stem the tide of technology and common usage." Ultimately the Court found in favour of SWT, holding that there was a valid contract between the parties and that the defendant breached by failing to deliver the flax. Keene J made a judgment against ALC for damages in the amount of $82,200.21 payable to SWT plus interest. What does this mean for Australia? This is a Canadian decision meaning that it is not precedent in Australia. However, an Australian court is well within its rights to consider this judgment when dealing with matters that come before it with similar circumstances. This judgment is a reminder that the common law of contract has and will continue to evolve to meet the everchanging realities and challenges of our day-to-day lives. As time has progressed, we have seen the courts transition from sole acceptance of the traditional "wet ink" signature, to electronic signatures. Electronic signatures are legally recognised in Australia and are provided for by the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 and the Electronic Transactions Regulations 2020. Companies are also now able to execute certain documents via electronic means under s 127 of the Corporations Act. We have also seen the rise of electronic platforms such as "DocuSign" used in commercial relationships to facilitate the efficient signing of contracts. Furthermore, this case highlights how courts will interpret the element of "intention" when determining whether a valid contract has been formed, confirming the long-standing principle that it is to be assessed objectively from the perspective of a reasonable and objective bystander who is aware of all the relevant facts. Overall, this is an interesting development for parties engaging in commerce via electronic means and an important reminder to all to be conscious of the fact that contracts have the potential to be agreed to by use of an emoji in today's digital age.

Published by Foez Dewan

29 August, 2023

Government

Venues NSW ats Kerri Kane: Venues NSW successful in overturning a District Court decision

The McCabes Government team are pleased to have assisted Venues NSW in successfully overturning a District Court decision holding it liable in negligence for injuries sustained by a patron who slipped and fell down a set of steps at a sports stadium; Venues NSW v Kane [2023] NSWCA 192 Principles The NSW Court of Appeal has reaffirmed the principles regarding the interpretation of the matters to be considered under sections5B of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW). There is no obligation in negligence for an occupier to ensure that handrails are applied to all sets of steps in its premises. An occupier will not automatically be liable in negligence if its premises are not compliant with the Building Code of Australia (BCA). Background The plaintiff commenced proceedings in the District Court of NSW against Venues NSW (VNSW) alleging she suffered injuries when she fell down a set of steps at McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle on 6 July 2019. The plaintiff attended the Stadium with her husband and friend to watch an NRL rugby league match. It was raining heavily on the day. The plaintiff alleged she slipped and fell while descending a stepped aisle which comprised of concrete steps between rows of seating. The plaintiff sued VNSW in negligence alleging the stepped aisle constituted a "stairwell" under the BCA and therefore ought to have had a handrail. The plaintiff also alleged that the chamfered edge of the steps exceeded the allowed tolerance of 5mm. The Decision at Trial In finding in favour of the plaintiff, Norton DCJ found that: the steps constituted a "stairwell" and therefore were in breach of the BCA due to the absence of a handrail and the presence of a chamfered edge exceeding 5mm in length. even if handrails were not required, the use of them would have been good and reasonable practice given the stadium was open during periods of darkness, inclement weather, and used by a persons of varying levels of physical agility. VNSW ought to have arranged a risk assessment of the entire stadium, particularly the areas which provided access along stepped surfaces. installation of a handrail (or building stairs with the required chamfered edge) would not impose a serious burden on VNSW, even if required on other similar steps. Issues on Appeal VNSW appealed the decision of Norton DCJ. The primary challenge was to the trial judge's finding that VNSW was in breach of its duty of care in failing to install a handrail. In addition, VNSW challenged the findings that the steps met the definition of a 'stairwell' under the BCA as well as the trial judge's assessment of damages. Decision on Appeal The Court of Appeal found that primary judge's finding of breach of duty on the part of VNSW could not stand for multiple reasons, including that it proceeded on an erroneous construction of s5B of the Civil Liability Act 2002 and the obvious nature of the danger presented by the steps. As to the determination of breach of duty, the Court stressed that the trial judge was wrong to proceed on the basis that the Court simply has regard to each of the seven matters raised in ss 5B and 5C of the CLA and then express a conclusion as to breach. Instead, the Court emphasised that s 5B(1)(c) is a gateway, such that a plaintiff who fails to satisfy that provision cannot succeed, with the matters raised in s 5B(2) being mandatory considerations to be borne in mind when determining s 5B(1)(c). Ultimately, regarding the primary question of breach of duty, the Court found that: The stadium contained hazards which were utterly familiar and obvious to any spectator, namely, steps which needed to be navigated to get to and to leave from the tiered seating. While the trial judge considered the mandatory requirements required by s5B(2) of the CLA, those matters are not exhaustive and the trial judge failed to pay proper to attention to the fact that: the stadium had been certified as BCA compliant eight years before the incident; there was no evidence of previous falls resulting in injury despite the stairs being used by millions of spectators over the previous eight years; and the horizontal surfaces of the steps were highly slip resistant when wet. In light of the above, the Court of Appeal did not accept a reasonable person in the position of VNSW would not have installed a handrail along the stepped aisle. The burden of taking the complained of precautions includes to address similar risks of harm throughout the stadium, i.e. installing handrails on the other stepped aisles. This was a mandatory consideration under s5C(a) which was not properly taken into account. As to the question of BCA compliance, the Court of Appeal did not consider it necessary to make a firm conclusion of this issue given it did not find a breach of duty. The Court did however indicated it did not consider the stepped aisle would constitute a "stairway" under the BCA. The Court of Appeal also found that there was nothing in the trial judge's reasons explicitly connecting the risk assessment she considered VNSW ought to have carried out, with the installation of handrails on any of the aisles in the stadium and therefore could not lead to any findings regarding breach or causation. As to quantum, the Court of Appeal accepted that the trial judge erred in awarding the plaintiff a "buffer" of $10,000 for past economic loss in circumstances where there was no evidence of any loss of income. The Court of Appeal set aside the orders of the District Court and entered judgment for VNSW with costs. Why this case is important? The case confirms there is no obligation in negligence for owners and operators of public or private venues in NSW to have a handrail on every set of steps. It is also a welcome affirmation of the principles surrounding the assessment of breach of duty under s 5B and s 5C of the CLA, particularly in assessing whether precautions are required to be taken in response to hazards which are familiar and obvious to a reasonable person.

Published by Leighton Hawkes

18 August, 2023