Dr Veronica Hampson - [2022] FWC 935

[2022] FWC 935

FAIR WORK COMMISSION

DECISION

Fair Work Act 2009

s.789FC - Application for an order to stop bullying

Dr Veronica Hampson

(SO2021/15)

COMMISSIONER SIMPSON

BRISBANE, 22 APRIL 2022

Application for an FWC order to stop bullying - Application dismissed

On 18 November 2021, Dr Veronica Hampson (Dr Hampson / the Applicant) made an application pursuant to s.789FC of the Fair Work Act 2009 (the Act) to the Fair Work Commission (the Commission) for an order to stop bullying. The Applicant’s employer was, at the relevant times and continues to be, the University of Southern Queensland (the University / the Employer) and the person named in the application is Professor Jeffery Soar (Professor Soar / the Person Named).

The matter was allocated to me on 1 December 2021, and I listed the matter for a Directions Hearing on 16 December 2021. The matter was set for a substantive hearing on 14 and 15 March 2022 in person in Brisbane. At hearing, the Applicant was represented by Mr Travis O’Brien of counsel instructed by Mr Justin Peñafiel of Shine Lawyers. The Person Named and the Employer were represented by Mr James Ford of counsel, instructed by Ms Leanne Dearlove of Colin Biggers & Paisley.

Dr Hampson alleges that Professor Soar has bullied her during her employment at the University. The Person Named has formally been Dr Hampson’s supervisor since at least 19 March 2020.

BACKGROUND

The Applicant is engaged by the Employer as an Accounting Lecturer at the Springfield Campus from 18 January 2013. She is classified as an Academic Level B within the meaning of clause 21.4 of the University of Southern Queensland Enterprise Agreement 2018-2021 (the Agreement). Professor Soar, being the Applicant’s supervisor since 19 March 2020, is the Chair of Human-Centred Technology. The Applicant noted this is a different discipline to her own.

During the time in which the Applicant was supervised by Professor Soar, the Applicant alleges that she has been subject to bullying from Professor Soar, namely:

· Professor Soar has repeatedly attempted to coerce the Applicant to research output requirements that are unreasonable in that they exceed what is required of the Applicant under the Agreement and the Workload Policies.

· Professor Soar has set unreasonable research expectations on two grounds:

· failing to recognise existing research activities, including Award-winning publications that comprise, if not exceed, twenty percent of the workers’ workload as required under the policy and Agreement; and

· being reluctant, if not declining, to recognise specific research activities for reasons including, but not limited to, the research papers not being uploaded to a certain electronic database or being published in a journal with a specific rank, in spite of these requirements not being in the policy or Agreement.

· Professor Soar has repeatedly attempted to coerce the Applicant to meet unreasonable work expectations by appropriating her students’ work as her own research by publishing under each of their…

Grounds of appeal

[14] The appellant contends that the primary judge erred in finding that the respondent had discharged the onus of establishing the matters required under the relevant provision.

[15] It was submitted that his Honour failed to give adequate weight to the evidence of the second witness, and that the findings of fact were not reasonably open on the material before the Court.

[16] The respondent, for its part, submits that no error is disclosed, and that the conclusions reached were well within the range of outcomes available to the primary judge.

Consideration

[17] It is convenient to deal first with the question of construction, as the resolution of that issue informs the remaining grounds advanced by the appellant.

[18] For the reasons that follow, we are of the view that the appeal should be allowed in part and the matter remitted for further determination.

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Details

AGLC: Dr Veronica Hampson [2022] FWC 935
Case: [2022] FWC 935
Decision Date: 22 APRIL 2022

CaseChat Overview and Summary

Dr Veronica Hampson made an application to the Fair Work Commission for an order to stop bullying by her employer, the University of Southern Queensland (University), and specifically by Professor Jeffery Soar, her supervisor. The University denied that Professor Soar had engaged in any bullying conduct towards Dr Hampson. The Commission found that the Applicant had not been bullied by Professor Soar and dismissed the application. The Commission found that Professor Soar had not made any inappropriate comments about plagiarism and that his suggestion that Dr Hampson consider publishing a student’s literature review was in line with the University’s Authorship Procedure. The Commission also found that the conduct of Professor Soar in relation to Dr Hampson’s request to work from home was not unreasonable.

Orders