Gardening company boss David Donohoe ordered to pay almost $50k in compensation after workplace racism row
A gardener has been awarded a huge compensation payout after his boss sacked him when he complained about a racist colleague.
The owner of a now-defunct Clayton gardening company has been ordered to pay almost $50,000 to a former employee, after sacking him when he made a racism complaint.
David Donohoe, 42, of Hughesdale sacked his former employee Ahmed Saffrim from his gardening company, 4U services, after Mr Saffrim complained about a co-worker calling some of the company’s Indian and Chinese clients “stingy” and “cheap”.
The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal found Mr Saffrim’s co-worker called one customer a “filthy Asian” and a “f**king Asian”, and said other Asian customers had “filthy houses” which they “do not look after”.
Mr Saffrim’s colleague also said Asian customers had a “bad culture of living”.
Mr Saffrim, a Malaysian national, complained to his boss about the vile comments, saying they made him “feel humiliated and insulted” and “that as an Asian person I did not belong in Australian society”.
After the complaint, Mr Donohoe, who was born in Ireland and married to a Chinese woman, told Mr Saffrim he would “think about what to do about it”.
The gardener who made the racist comments said he would be “more careful” about how he spoke around Mr Saffrim.
But Mr Donohoe never gave Mr Saffrim another shift, and sent him a text message asking him to “take tomorrow off”.
A dejected Mr Saffrim asked him, “I am wondering why is that David?”
Mr Donohoe did not answer, and only later tried to blame the Covid-19 pandemic for a lack of work for Mr Saffrim.
When Mr Saffrim again asked if he would be given shifts, Mr Donohoe fobbed him off, sending a text message that said, “I will let you know Ahmad if there is work coming up”.
Three months later, Mr Saffrim found work elsewhere.
VCAT acting deputy president Charles Powles said Mr Donohue “authorised” the other gardener’s discriminatory behaviour by not taking disciplinary action, and victimised Mr Saffrim by sacking him after he complained about it.
“When the other gardener’s comments and behaviour were brought to his attention, Mr Donohoe’s response to Mr Saffrim’s complaint was to end Mr Saffrim’s employment and not to take any other action in relation to the other gardener’s behaviour,” Mr Powles said.
“I accept that Mr Saffrim felt hopeless, isolated and depressed after his employment ended in this way.”
In a significant ruling, Mr Donohoe was found personally liable to pay compensation to Mr Saffrim, despite attempting to argue that any orders for compensation should be made against his now-assetless and inactive company.
That means Mr Donohoe will have to personally pay the $48,915 in compensation, plus any future orders for legal fees.
It is understood Mr Donohoe continues to run a gardening business through a different company, as well as working in a machinery hire business run by his wife.
