Daniella Sigur
[2022] FWC 665
| [2022] FWC 665 |
| FAIR WORK COMMISSION |
| DECISION |
Fair Work Act 2009
s.789FC - Application for an order to stop bullying
Daniella Sigur
(SO2022/31)
| COMMISSIONER MCKINNON | SYDNEY, 25 MARCH 2022 |
Application for an FWC order to stop bullying – application for interim orders – application for interim orders dismissed.
On 24 January 2022, Ms Daniella Sigur applied for orders to stop bullying at work. On 4 March 2022, Ms Sigur made an urgent application for an interim order “to protect [her] so that her main bullying application [could] be heard”. On 7 March 2022, I heard the application for an interim order and dismissed the application.
This is an edited version of the decision made on transcript on 7 March 2022:
“I am not satisfied, on the current evidence, that Mr Savva has repeatedly behaved unreasonably toward Ms Sigur. I am also not satisfied of the risk that Ms Sigur will continue to be bullied at work by Mr Savva.
Behaviour is to conduct oneself and to act in a specified way. The issue here is the failure to act, in the past, in relation to an employee who is no longer employed by the business. The circumstances of that alleged failure are in dispute and the brief available evidence does not satisfy me, at this stage, that the conduct of Mr Savva was both repeated and unreasonable, in relation to Ms Sigur.
Ms Sigur seeks orders to prevent her termination of employment and to hold Mr Savva accountable, in some way, for his past alleged failures. It may be that at some point in the future those alleged failures are established but, at the current time, they are not.
While I accept that Ms Sigur is worried about the prospect of termination of employment, I am not satisfied on the evidence before me that such a finding of risk can be made. The evidence on that issue is that conversations are ongoing about a concern that Ms Sigur made some comments about her previous Managing Director, and the need for accountability for those comments. They do not rise to the level of the prospect of termination and there is nothing more before me to satisfy me that termination is an impending or likely result or consequence.
Even if it was, an order preventing the Respondent from terminating Ms Sigur’s employment would not be an order directed to the prevention of bullying by Mr Savva, in circumstances where the perceived threat of dismissal does not involve him but, rather, Ms Fabienne Lopez and the present or acting CEO, Mr Ryan Stevens.
I also take into account actions taken by the Respondent to address Ms Sigur's concerns in recent weeks, including updating policies and procedures and offering to provide for an alternative reporting channel for Ms Sigur for future complaints.
For those reasons, the application for interim orders is dismissed.”
COMMISSIONER
Appearances:
D Sigur on her own behalf.
A Denton of Counsel for the respondent.
Hearing details:
2022.
Sydney (by video):
March 7.
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