The Workplace Relations Commission found Somy Thomas’s race discrimination complaint over a promotion competition at St Vincents Private Hospital Limited was not well founded. The decision was dated 18 January 2023.
Thomas, a Clinical Nurse Manager 1, was not selected for a locum Clinical Nurse Manager 2 post. She argued that the competition did not follow the hospital’s recruitment policy and questioned whether the successful candidate met the eligibility criteria. The hospital said it interviewed all applicants as a development opportunity and selected the highest-scoring candidate.
The adjudication officer found that comments by the Director of Nursing about Thomas’s management experience in India were not shown to have influenced the interview board. The officer also found that questioning that experience did not establish less favourable treatment on the ground of race. Thomas did not establish a prima facie case, meaning enough evidence to require the hospital to answer an allegation of discrimination.