A 63-year-old Perth man has been sacked for using a factually correct pronoun to introduce a male colleague during a training course. 

He used the pronoun ‘he’, but the male colleague filed a complaint because he wanted to be referred to as ‘they’.

As soon as the older worker was corrected he apologised to the younger male and the day continued. Afterwards, the younger male filed a complaint. As a result the 63-year-old had his contract terminated after he refused to issue an apology in writing.

The man then filed an unfair dismissal case as “he said no one could be ordered to call a colleague ‘they’”.

The 63-year-old later told a Fair Work hearing that if one person had the right to use a particular pronoun, then another person had the right not to. 

His decision not to apologise led to further backlash from his younger co-workers, who had sided with their non-binary colleague. 

He claimed his dismissal was unlawful, sought legal advice, and shared his intention to take the matter to Federal Court. 

The case went to the Fair Work Commission and the man was told he risked being subjected to social backlash if the matter was heard in open court. 

He subsequently reached a confidential settlement with his former employer. 

Lawyers have said there did not appear to be a legal right for someone to be called ‘they’ or ‘them’ within the workplace, and it was up to individual companies to dictate pronoun convention.

It is understood that the company who employed the 63-year-old and his non-binary colleague did not have a pronoun policy.

Compelled speech has no place in a democratic society. Forcing a colleague to lie for the sake of not hurting feelings is an extremist position. Everyone should be able to speak freely and accurately about the reality of another person’s sex without fear of being dismissed or taken to court.

Feelings do not trump facts and it is dangerous to insist that some people must comply with a delusion for the sake of another.

^{Image source: AI Generated Image}