Employee argues bullying and harassment forced departure from original role
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) recently dealt with a general protections dismissal application involving a public service worker who claimed she was dismissed when she transferred between Commonwealth Government agencies.
The worker argued that her employment with the Australian Taxation Office was terminated when she moved to the Australian Electoral Commission.
The worker maintained that she was subjected to severe bullying and harassment over four years, which left her with no alternative but to transfer to a new agency.
She argued that this transfer represented a termination of her employment and constituted either a dismissal or forced resignation under fair work legislation.
The worker had been employed as an Australian Public Service employee with the taxation office since 2007 and held the senior position of director in solutions from April 2024.
She stated in her application: "I was a Director there for over 4 years, where I was subjected to severe bullying and harassment by a number of Assistant Commissioners within the workplace. This harassment did not occur at random and was in direct retaliation to reasonable requests as per my workplace rights."
The worker detailed that the alleged conduct affected her mental health and made the workplace dangerous. She explained:
"Due to the conduct of these individuals, the workplace became...
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