Her bosses called her 'slippery' on a voicemail they thought was private

An accidental voicemail let a health-care worker hear her own manager and director describe her as "slippery" and "unreliable." Her employer called it a breach of its respectful workplace policy. Her claim for mental-injury compensation was still denied.

British Columbia's Workers' Compensation Appeal Tribunal released the decision on June 11, 2026, with Vice Chair Christopher Ramsay denying the worker's appeal. The worker, an infection control practitioner represented by her union, had asked for compensation for a mental disorder she traced to bullying and harassment across 2023 and 2024. Ramsay confirmed an earlier Review Division ruling that had turned her down.

The voicemail at the centre of the claim

The worker had booked Oct. 8, 2024, off after her spouse's surgery and was allowed to work from home the next day. On Oct. 9 a call went to her voicemail and recorded her manager and director discussing her, calling her "slippery" and "unreliable" and doubting that her spouse was really ill.

The employer investigated. The manager said she had been speaking privately with the director about performance reviews when the worker was phoned partway through, leaving the voicemail by accident. The employer found the incident breached its respectful workplace policy, and the decision records that the director was remorseful.

The worker submitted that the voicemail was the heart of her claim and that her...

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