ARTICLE · 14 SEPTEMBER 2013

Fair Work Commission expects a certain resilience from workers making bullying claims

Clayton Utz

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Not every employee who claims to have been hurt, embarrassed or humiliated will be assumed to have been bullied.

AustraliaEmployment and HR

Michael Byrnes (Formerly With Clayton Utz)

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Key Points:

Not every employee who claims to have been hurt, embarrassed or humiliated has been bullied.

The Fair Work Commission has signalled it will not automatically assume that an employee's hurt, embarrassment or humiliation has been caused by bullying (Harris v WorkPac Pty Ltd [2013] FWC 4111), in a decision that could affect the consideration of future bullying claims.

A working relationship on the rocks

Karen Harris worked with Rachel Maye. When Ms Maye resigned in early December 2012, she went for her exit interview. The key part of the interview was her allegation that Mrs Harris bullied her by swearing and screaming at her, constantly embarrassing and humiliating her in front of others, and complaining about her to get her into trouble. She had made these complaints before, but the employer had not acted on them.

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