The University of Melbourne has admitted one of its casual academics was not offered another contract after she made a claim for working additional hours.
The woman was refused further work on February 9, 2021, after she tried to claim an extra five hours on top of her allocated 12 hours of casual support work.
It followed an August 2020 meeting where the supervisor told the worker and another casual staffer, "if you claim outside your contracted hours, don't expect work next year".
The Fair Work Ombudsman took the case to the Federal Court, alleging the University of Melbourne took adverse action against the two casuals because they exercised a workplace right.
The university admitted the contraventions during a hearing on Tuesday, with barrister Richard Dalton KC apologising on behalf of the institution.
The university acknowledged its processes were insufficient and have since implemented several reforms to improve oversight for managing casuals, Mr Dalton said.
The barrister noted there was no evidence to support the claim the supervisor consciously breached the Fair Work Act or wanted to stop the employees from being paid for their work.
The supervisor had believed the workers were allocated enough time to complete their tasks so they shouldn't need to claim for more hours, Mr Dalton said.
The ombudsman's barrister Fiona Knowles told the court the threat to terminate employment was menacing and qualitatively different to how Mr Dalton framed it.
The employees should have been able to make a claim for any additional hours they worked without fear of repercussions, Ms Knowles said.
The parties have agreed to a penalty of $37,295. The two workers have already received compensation from the university.
Justice Craig Dowling reserved his decision to a later date.
The university is facing separate legal action, with the ombudsman alleging 14 casual academics were underpaid between February 2017 and December 2019.
It is alleged the total underpayments were $154,424, with each staff member eligible for between $927 to $30,140.
