Raynes
Content Warning: These stories are about violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation and may include references to suicide or self-harming behaviours. They may contain graphic descriptions and strong language and may be distressing. Some narratives may be about First Nations people who have passed away. If you need support, please see Contact & support.
‘I come from a non-English speaking background … I am a woman of colour, so there is that intersection there. I'm also a survivor of child sexual abuse, so there is intersection there. And I also have disabilities.’
Raynes, early 50s, has a ‘longstanding history’ of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety. She also has medical issues which cause pain and restrict her mobility.
In the late 2010s, Raynes began working remotely in the education sector. She was on rolling fixed-term contracts and had several contracts renewed.
‘There were never any issues with the way that I did my work … and my managers were happy.’
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Raynes’s entire team began working remotely.
Six months later, management asked all staff to return to the office.
HR gave Raynes a new contract but told her she could no longer work remotely. She explained her role ‘even pre-pandemic had always been remote’.
Until this point Raynes hadn’t told anyone about her disability because she ‘never had to’.
Raynes spoke to a lawyer who advised her to tell her employer she has disability and request reasonable adjustments.
Raynes put in a flexible working arrangement request under the Fair Work Act, with supporting letters from her doctors and psychologist. Her employer approved the request.
A short time later everyone in the team received full-time contracts. Raynes, however, had to go through ‘an external competitive process if [she] wanted to keep [her] job’.
Rayne was successful, but discovered the contract was conditional on her working from the office. She requested amendments to include her reasonable adjustments but HR refused.
Rayne wasn’t well at the time and was about to have surgery. She accepted the offer and asked to work from home for the first three months while she recovered. HR refused, threatening to withdraw the contract unless she accepted it in its entirety.
Raynes then asked if should take annual leave to recover from the operation.
HR refused and withdrew the full-time offer, offering a limited contract until she started working in the office.
Raynes’s lawyer advised the employer was acting ‘illegally’, so she declined the offer.
‘I was so demoralised, burnt out, exhausted by everything that had been thrown at me. I decided [my employer] did not have my best interests or health and wellbeing in mind, nor did they have any intention of treating me fairly.’
Raynes has not worked full time since then.
She investigated pursuing legal action but it was too expensive.
‘I am limited by how much legal advice I could pay for, [and] community legal services are under-resourced and unable to keep up with demand.’
Raynes made a complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission, but has discovered it is limited in what it can do.
‘There is no legal jurisdiction or authority who is willing to consider the entirety of an employer’s wrongdoing, or the reasonableness of their actions,’ she said.
‘The whole thing is diluted … No-one looks at the cumulative impact. Employers get away with wrongdoing on multiple fronts.’
Disclaimer: This is the story of a person who shared their personal experience with the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability through a submission or private session. The names in this story are pseudonyms. The person who shared this experience was not a witness and their account is not evidence. They did not take an oath or affirmation before providing the story. Nothing in this story constitutes a finding of the Royal Commission. Any views expressed are those of the person who shared their experience, not of the Royal Commission.