A nursing home has been ordered to pay an ex-employee $346,000 in compensation after a judge found she was fired because of her race.
Wei Han, also known by the name Casey, worked at the St Basil's Homes Lakemba facility in Sydney's west for nine years before her contract was terminated.
The registered nurse is Chinese and alleged she was ganged-up on by Filippino staff who operated as a clique, a Federal Court judgment revealed on Tuesday.
In the period before her dismissal, Ms Han emailed her Filipino manager saying she felt repeatedly targeted by another co-worker and no longer felt safe working at the facility, according to the judgment.
On Christmas Eve 2019, Ms Han sent another email expressing concern over staff members' refusal to assist her when providing care to residents at the home.
"As things transpired, this was the final day that Ms Han worked at St Basil's," Justice Yaseen Shariff said.
In response to Ms Han's allegations, the manager sought accounts from other staff members.
Ms Han was fired from St Basil's in January 2020 for failing to provide necessary care to residents of St Basil's Nursing home.
Justice Steven Rares, who was previously assigned to the judgment, found the manager used the information from the email to investigate Ms Han's professional conduct and labelled it a "trumped up attack".
Justice Shariff agreed St Basil's "turned Ms Han's complaints on their head", instead of properly investigating her complaints.
"The allegations as to Ms Han's failure to deliver adequate clinical care were based on flimsy foundations that were ultimately unsound."
Justice Rares also found Ms Han was fired because of her race, and because her managers' preferred workers of a different (Filippino) race.
"That is matter of considerable gravity," Justice Shariff said.
He argued all employees including Ms Han have a right to make complaints about their employment, and found St Basil's breached this statutory protection.
The conduct of St Basil's management team caused Ms Han to suffer mental harm and financial loss, Justice Shariff said.
As a result, he ordered the aged care facility to pay their former employee more than $346,000 in compensation.
In the years after the events relating to Ms Han, managerial staff at the time including the woman who handled her complaint are no longer employed at St Basil's, according to the judgment.
It also alleged the nursing home has taken significant steps to improve its workplace culture and systems.
