News updates as they come to hand.
11 June 2013
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Victory over bank bullies
Reported by Kay Dibben in the Courier Mail The article tells the story of the bullying of Abby Holt, an employee of Westpac. The bullying by her team leader, Emily Lowson. and another employee, Kayla Chiesa, began within weeks of Ms Holt's taking up employment in September 2010. The article reports on the findings of the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) , which determined that Ms Holt is entitled to workers' compensation. Ms Lowson called Ms Holt names, such as "Scabby Abby" and "Scabs", apparently to humiliate Ms Holt, who weighed about 53kg. Ms Lowson also called her a "Breatharian" because she did not eat much while working in the office. Ms Holt was also referred to as a "Coke puppet" by one of the women, "because her head was too big for her body" and the woman even "YouTubed" the Diet Coke ad to show her. Ms Lowson also commented about Ms Holt's "cheap" clothing and falsely claimed there had been written and verbal complaints about her in 2011. When Ms Holt complained to Ms Lowson's superior, Damian Cramer, he told her that her name had been "tarnished" within the business. He told her that there was no room left in the business for her and she needed to have a good think about her future at Westpac. Mr Cramer later took the "extraordinary step" of asking her to leave the building and escorting her from the premises. The QIRC found that Mr Cramer's action was "akin to a summary dismissal" rather than "a reasonable response to an employee's complaint of bullying and harassment". It was also reported that Shine Lawyers is considering a claim against Westpac for Ms Holt, who suffered an adjustment order and anxiety, and has been looking for work since leaving Westpac in 2011. After the decision awarding her workers' compensation, Ms Holt is quoted as saying: "I fought for justice and I feel so good now. I hope other people won't let this sort of bullying happen to them". Tread carefully with injured workers Article by Matthew Smith (Parter) and Andrew Ross (Lawyer) of Sparke Helmore Lawyers, published in the June 2013 edition of Proctor. The article is about "a common difficulty law firms and their clients face", being "how to deal with an employee who has long term injury or sickness said to be a result of their employment". The authors note that the laws applicable to injured workers' employment are "complex and require significant skill and understanding to successfully navigate the legal and business requirements". The article fairly warns employers about the risks associated with the mismanagement injured/ill employees, referring to provisions in relevant legislation for payment of compensation and civil penalties; anti-discrimination legislation; unfair dismissal laws; and safety obligations Let's hope their clients are listening. |