A former University of Technology Sydney professor based in Shanghai has filed a lawsuit accusing the university of race and age discrimination, alleging his contract was not renewed after the dean of the business school said he wanted to appoint a Chinese person to his position.
In the proceedings, filed in the Federal Court on Friday, former director and professor at the UTS Business School Programs (Shanghai), Sarath Delpachitra, claims that UTS discriminated against him on the grounds of race and age when it failed to extend his contract in 2019.
Delpachitra, an Australian citizen who identifies as an indigenous Sri Lankan, had been based at the UTS Business School in Shanghai since 2016, having signed interrelated, three-year contracts with UTS and Shanghai University.
In January 2019, he had discussions with UTS about renewing his contract, telling Chris Earley, UTS Dean of the Business School, that he wanted to work in Shanghai for two more years, until his 66th birthday in February 2021.
According to court documents, Earley said to Delpachitra words to the effect that he “would like to employ a Chinese person for that position”.
Earley is also alleged to have said words to the effect of “I will be happy to recommend that you work in Shanghai for one more year, but no more – I would like to move a Chinese person to the role as soon as possible”.
Delpachitra, who held an ‘A category Chinese visa’ without age restriction, was later told in an email from UTS Deputy Dean Carl Rhodes that UTS had recommended to Shanghai University that his contract be extended until his 65th birthday in February 2020, but that beyond that any extensions would require special permission from Shanghai University and the Chinese government, the lawsuit says.
Rhodes had previously told Delpachitra that he had been informed that in 2017, the Chinese Foreign Expert Bureau enforced a maximum working age of 65 for the issue of visas.
Based on Rhodes’ email and a discussion between Delpachitra and the UTS Provost and Deputy Vice Chancellor International, in March Delpachitra signed an agreement with Shanghai University extending his employment in China to February 19, 2020, court documents say.
The lawsuit alleges that Rhodes then told Delpachitra in April via email that UTS would only offer him an employment contract until 18 February 2020 on the condition that he relocate to Sydney from July 1, 2019 and perform duties of a lesser nature to those he was performing.
Delpachitra was later told on May 31, 2019 that, notwithstanding his contract with Shanghai University, he no longer had an employment contract with UTS, and his employment would immediately cease thereafter, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit follows an unsuccessful attempt by the parties to resolve the dispute by conciliation at the Australian Human Rights Commission. Delpachitra alleges that UTS discriminated against him by excluding him from a further contract, and preferring another person, on the basis of his race or ethnic origin.
The University also discriminated against Delpachitra on the basis of his age, the lawsuit claims, by not offering him a further contract in Shanghai and by purporting to offer him lower grade employment in Sydney.
Delpachitra is seeking $808,000 in economic losses, as well as damages for non-economic loss, including damage to his personal and professional reputation, personal hurt and distress.
Lawyerly has reached out to UTS for comment.
Delpachitra is represented by Matti Lamb and Associates.
The case is Sarath Delpachitra v University of Technology.