STU v JKL (Qld) Pty Ltd [2016] QCAT 505: Hotel Chain Ordered to Pay Damages in Sexual Assault Case
Friday 3 February 2017 @ 9.02 a.m. | Industrial Law | Legal Research
In the case of STU v JKL (Qld) Pty Ltd [2016] QCAT 505 (6 December 2016), the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) has ordered a hotel chain to contribute $313,000 in damages after an employee alleged she was sexually assaulted by a work colleague.
Background
The employee launched legal action claiming she was sexually assaulted while staying at a hotel in 2010, which was owned by her employer. The accommodation was offered to her when she relocated to Brisbane to work.
The applicant told QCAT she shared an apartment with the hotel’s night manager, who was close to 70 years of age at the time, and that he entered her room naked at 5am one morning and assaulted her.
The Tribunal's Decision
In handing down her decision, Tribunal Member Ann Fitzpatrick found that the incident had occurred during the course of the employee’s work, and as such, both the business and the manager were ordered to contribute to the $313,000 in damages for the employee. The Tribunal also found the victim suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and depression after the December 2010 attack and was unable to return to work until 2015.
Ms Fitzpatrick rejected the hotel chain’s argument that the victim could have chosen not to live in the apartment with the caretaker, finding that the assault took place in the course of both parties’ employment:
“I do not think it is unreasonable for such a person to feel that when her employer is transferring her to Brisbane and taking active steps to arrange her accommodation that she is required to live in that accommodation. She was assaulted in her bedroom and was awoken from sleep. She was plainly very vulnerable and she underwent a frightening experience.”
Ms Fitzpatrick also rejected the hotel’s argument that the woman had pre-existing psychological and substance abuse problems that would warrant an adjustment of any compensation, along with its claim that the incident could not have been that damaging since she had recovered from an earlier, unrelated sexual assault.
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Sources:
Hotel chain to contribute to $313,000 in damages after workplace sexual assault: Lessons for employers - smartcompany.com.au
Hotel ordered to pay $313,000 for ‘serious and shocking’ sex attack - news.com.au
STU v JKL (Qld) Pty Ltd & Ors [2016] QCAT 505 (6 December 2016)
