A mother-of-two has lodged a complaint with the Fair Work Ombudsman after alleging her former employer forced her to resign when she became pregnant. Diana Lindsey Aragon, 27, from Perth, claims Austrend Foods co-owner Denzil Godfrey Rao pressured her into signing a resignation letter in July 2016.
Ms Aragon, a former sales representative, says Rao stopped paying her after she fell pregnant for the second time in quick succession. She alleges she was made to sign a pre-prepared resignation letter in order to access $16,000 in back-pay owed to her.
According to court documents, Ms Aragon's issues with the company began in early 2015 when she announced her first pregnancy. She claims she received a warning letter for poor sales figures despite having received a pay rise for exceeding targets months earlier. She says she was forced to work until her due date before taking 18 weeks of maternity leave in July 2015.
Ms Aragon fell pregnant again in 2016 and says Austrend forced her to take unpaid leave. When she requested part-time work after her leave, the request was refused. She was told to remain on leave until April 2016 and return full-time, but discovered she was pregnant again in March. She informed the company she would need further maternity leave from September, but was told she would have to take unpaid leave until after the birth. When she rejected this, she claims she was summoned to the office and presented with a resignation letter, which she signed to access the back-pay.
This is not the first time Rao has faced allegations of unfair treatment of female employees. In 2016, another sales representative, Maree Hayes, successfully sued the company for over $4,000 after being unfairly dismissed while on long-term sick leave. The Fair Work Commission found in her favour.
The hearing for Ms Aragon's case is due to begin in Perth Federal Court. Austrend and Rao declined to comment when contacted.
