What can be done about discrimination in the workplace?

Questioner

My aunt has been working at a daycare for almost 20 years and only now is she being told that she does not speak the language well and that this is hindering her work. My aunt is of Chilean descent and her Dutch is indeed not perfect, but it is certainly not as bad as what her colleagues claim. The children at the daycare have also been raised foreign/bilingual for the most part and think my aunt is absolutely fantastic, but colleagues also say that my aunt does not communicate well with the parents of the children. My aunt and I find this a bit strange and unbelievable since the parents in question have never said anything negative to or about my aunt. Now the manager has given my aunt until October to learn to speak the language well and if she does not succeed she will be given another position such as working in the kitchen or as a cleaner. Of course my aunt does not accept this because these are not the positions for which she had ever been trained, and given the fact that she has been working there for so long and the language was not a problem before, we find the whole situation strange. My aunt indicates that she feels that it has more personal reasons and that the colleagues she has now have a problem with her background, and therefore want her out of the workplace. Discrimination would be the problem here, but we don't really know what we can do about it and what exactly my aunt's rights are.

Lawyer

It is very annoying that after 20 years your aunt is being accused of not speaking the language well enough. If there is discrimination, it is possible to file a complaint with the employer. If that does not help, a complaint can be filed with the College for Human Rights. The employer may not simply change your aunt's function. Especially not if your aunt has been able to function without problems for 20 years. I advise you to submit the case to a lawyer or attorney. You can of course contact me if you wish.