You are a supervisor at a small catering company. Management has recently hired a new waitress to join your team. Maria has moved from Indonesia and although she is quite proficient at speaking English, she regularly gets confused when other members of the wait staff use slang such as “brekkie” and “arvo”. Some of the waiters laugh at Maria when she mispronounces words or doesn’t understand specific instructions. This behaviour causes her to feel excluded from the work team and humiliated.

1- How are the key principles of fairness and equity being ignored in this scenario? Explain why the employees’ treatment of Maria is harassment.

2- What is Equal Employment Opportunity legislation and how does it apply to this scenario?

3- How can the team change their behaviour to better support and respect Maria?

4- What strategies can the team employ to overcome any language barriers that exist with Maria and effectively communicate work instructions?

5- Describe 3 sources of assistance or information that can help the team to develop their communication with Maria and any future employees who speak English as a second language

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