Worker sues employer for ‘targeted bullying’ by company managers

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) recently dealt with a worker’s case who said she was “forced to resign” due to her employer’s inaction over her bullying reports from managers.

The worker was a casual food and beverage attendant who worked her shift in the bar area.

She called the general manager and expressed concerns about her interaction with management. She refused to finish her shift and left the workplace.

She said she was forced to resign because she was “being bullied over time” and did not receive any assistance even after reporting the bullying incidents to the general manager.

She said she was working at the bar, and the duty manager was “standing over her and being verbally abusive.”

She then reported it to the general manager, who instructed her “to go home and that they would discuss the issue the following day.”

A meeting happened, but the worker said the employer “did not consider her complaint and said she was spoken over when trying to respond to questions.”

She had already prepared a letter of resignation before the meeting and gave it to the general manager when she saw that “she would not be assisted concerning her complaints and would continue to be subjected to bullying by managers.”

In her letter, she said the reasons were her treatment by “her duty managers and lack of improvement in working conditions.”

After she gave the letter, she failed to attend the shift she had accepted and did not notify the employer she would be absent. The employer then told her she would “not be rostered for further shifts.”

The bullying incidents

In one of the bullying reports she filed, she said she joked about a duty manager who was “being moody.”

She said the manager “misunderstood the joke, got up in her face, and started yelling down at her, making her scared.” She said she apologised to him, “but he responded by threatening that if it happened again, he would cut her shifts and fire her.”

On another occasion, a different duty manager asked her to fill fridges. She filled it as directed, but after looking at her work, the manager told her it was “pathetic.” He said, “You call that full?” And told her “to do it again and fill it properly,” contrary to how she was trained and directed.

Moreover, a few weeks before her employment termination, she said a duty manager “swore at her and abused her for ordering food from the bistro.”

The worker said it was “common practice for staff members to order dinner as takeaway to take home after their shift.” The ordered food incorrectly came on a plate, which resulted in the duty manager yelling, “You cannot get fucking food on your shift.”

The worker said she tried to explain, but he “did not listen and said: ‘Well, never fucking do this again.’”

Consequently, the worker said she had no choice but to resign since the general manager’s failure to address her concerns “resulted in an unsafe workplace that she could no longer work in.”

An intention to resign

Meanwhile, the employer said that there was an instance the worker “walked out” of the workplace due to tensions with the management. It also said she was not forced to resign because she “had already provided written notice of her decision to bring the employment relationship to an end” even before she met with the general manager.

It also said the worker abandoned her shift and “failure to attend or notify the employer of an absence” showed her “intention to no longer be bound by the contract of employment.”

The commission’s decision

In its decision, the commission noted the worker’s argument that “the lack of management action by [the general manager] to protect her from the duty managers’ targeted bullying is what led to her resignation.”

However, after reviewing the worker’s testimonies and her witnesses, the commission found that they “failed to provide evidence to support the claims of bullying to the extent where she was compelled to resign.”

“The [worker] and her witnesses did attest that the duty managers did, on occasion, raise their voices, swear at her, and disparage her work ethic,” the commission said.

“[But] these actions are not so significant that it could persuade or otherwise convince the worker to resign,” it explained.

“The [worker] may have been justifiably irate and disgruntled by the way the duty managers interacted with her. However, these actions were not meant to force her resignation,” the commission said.

Thus, it ruled the worker was not “forced to resign” due to the employer’s conduct and, consequently, dismissed her application.