A manager allegedly called a worker a lesbian and said he’d hired a stripper. Now the Fair Work Commission says her sexual harassment claim can proceed
A senior manager at workplace relations firm Peninsula Australia allegedly called a sales employee a lesbian, said he had hired a stripper and shared details of his sex life. The allegations are part of a sexual harassment dispute the Fair Work Commission has allowed to proceed.
The claims, first reported by The Australian Financial Review (AFR) today (13 October), were brought by a former sales worker against Peninsula’s director of inside sales. He denies them.
The worker alleged that on 10 occasions between 2023 and early 2024, the manager remarked in meetings on her relationship with her roommate and her tongue piercing, the AFR reported. She also alleged he stared at women. In mid-2024, she alleged, he said his son stared at or flirted with girls and that a colleague was lucky to have a female employee to look at every day.
She made separate allegations against two other staff members, including that one sent her an explicit message. Both men denied the claims, and none of the conduct was raised with them or Peninsula at the time.
The worker argued Peninsula should be held to a higher standard given its apparent expertise in workplace matters. She said she wanted to stop what she described as a pattern of harassment, discrimination and bullying. Peninsula’s own investigation after she lodged her application did not lead to any policy changes, according to the AFR.
Commissioner Sarah McKinnon summarised the worker’s reason for staying silent.
“[The employee] thought that if [her boss] could act in the manner alleged in his capacity as a director of sales in a company specialising in human resources services, what would be the point in complaining about his behaviour to others?”
Peninsula, which traded as Employsure until mid-2024, also faces a separate unlawful dismissal case from the same employee, the AFR reported.
Why the claim survived the 24-month time limit
Peninsula objected to the application because much of the alleged conduct occurred more than two years before it was lodged.
Under section 527G of the Fair Work Act 2009, the commission may dismiss a sexual harassment application made more than 24 months after the alleged contravention, or after the last in a series of incidents.
The dispute process was introduced by the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Secure Jobs, Better Pay) Act 2022 and began on 6 March 2023. It follows Respect@Work, the Australian Human Rights Commission’s 2020 national inquiry report, launched by then Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins, which made 55 recommendations.
The AFR described the ruling as the first to deal with the deadline. Commissioner McKinnon accepted the worker had delayed because she was caring for her ill mother and feared bullying, ostracisation and damage to her career.
“The discretionary nature of the power to dismiss an application … is indicative of the parliament’s recognition that 24 months will usually, but will not always, be enough,” she said.
She allowed the claims against the manager to proceed, including comments allegedly made beyond the two-year mark. She dismissed the claims against the two other staff members, finding their merits disproportionate to the time and resources they would take.
What the ruling means for HR leaders
The decision shows the commission will weigh the reasons for a delayed complaint rather than treating 24 months as a hard cutoff.
Employers can find more detail in the Fair Work Commission’s draft Sexual Harassment Disputes Benchbook.
Earlier cases show the value of contemporaneous records. One example is a Coles manager who lost his unfair dismissal case after dozens of complaints. Another is the commission’s rejection of a fly-in fly-out worker’s unfair dismissal claim.
