Employment lawyer #2 - Part 2 - 2020

On 25 February 2020, employment lawyer #2 sent a formal letter. 

The truth is, had leaders of the organisation applied and complied with their own policies and procedures, aligned to laws and regulations, there should never be a need for employees to require legal representation. There is such a power imbalance, and audacious abuse of that power, that the way things are right now, there’s no hope for an employee to be treated respectfully, ethically, and with the primary goal being procedural fairness. 2025 is a Federal election year and it’s time for reform. For actual action. 

By the way, Minister Jason Clare, we the public, are STILL WAITING for the priorities that were reported in the Australian Universities Accord, to be implemented. We’ve been waiting since the public release of the Interim Report in mid-2023! 

Readers, see my posts at Organisational culture - the cons - part 1 and Organisational culture - the cons - part 2.

That is why regulators like SafeWork NSW must get their act together urgently, and intervene quickly when an employee submits a complaint of psychological violence. If an employer chooses to behave in recklessness and serious misconduct with greater intent to cause harm, as adverse action, I was under the assumption and trusted that SafeWork NSW would intervene. That’s their job and responsibility. That’s what they advertise to the public too, isn’t it? Because that’s what they apparently do! Then why did the SafeWork NSW inspector not do the job as promoted to workers and the public, in my case (and I’m sure, others too)? We’ll get to that part of the story, later. 

The letter is mostly a chronology of events, rehashing the incidents of workplace bullying, discrimination and harassment that I had already provided those responsible for managing psychosocial hazards as per the university’s policies, procedures and guidelines. They didn’t! They did not even read the complaint, the multiple and repeated incidents listed. They didn’t care! 

The only positive outcome from enlisting another employment lawyer was more proof that I made yet another reasonable effort to resolve this issue efficiently and fairly. What was revealed is coming up in the next post. It was, and still is, very traumatic for me and my family. It’s extremely creepy and distressing behaviour from senior “leaders” of a publicly funded university. I and my family feel extremely violated. 

The serious privacy violation backfired on these immoral “leaders” poached from other universities for being psychopathic and dangerous to staff. They were not poached and brought into a once great university, for being brilliant and ethical employment relations and safety managers. 

It’s time for real disciplinary action pointing in the right direction, do readers agree? Do public stakeholders and customers of the NSW Department of Customer Service, agree, especially ones who have made complaints to SafeWork NSW and / or SIRA NSW, only to be met with failure, disrespect, suspicious dodginess and massive gross negligence that caused greater harm? It’s not a state issue that political leaders (the ethical ones) and career politicians (the ones who should not be in parliament or representing an electorate) can ignore anymore. 

I quote parts of this letter:

“We have been provided with a history of our client’s employment culminating in a period of directed sick leave commencing on 2 July 2019.

Serious legal issues arise from our client’s employment history, particularly in relation to [the University’s] failure to:

a) ensure that bullying and harassment in the workplace were identified, managed and eliminated; and

b) act appropriately to address legitimate and ongoing grievances when they were raised by our client; and

c) adhere to its policies for managing personnel and internal grievances; and

d) ensure that our client was not victimised or treated adversely as a consequence of exercising her workplace rights to make complaints or inquiries in relation to her employment; 

… We are also concerned that [the university] has failed to recognise, or act upon multiple instances of bullying and harassment in the workplace, to our client’s detriment.

It is clear on our client’s instructions that her complaints about being bullied, undermined and isolated by [the manager] have been ignored…

[The university’s] actions outlined above amount to adverse action taken against our client because she has repeatedly sought to exercise her workplace rights to make complaints in relation to her employment and request a safe workplace free from bullying and harassment, and to initiate and participate in dispute resolutions proceedings. Instead, our client has received no support or assistance from senior management, and has been further bullied, undermined and isolated.

[The university’s] actions have clearly prejudiced our client in her employment, discriminated between her and other employees, and has resulted in a protracted period of sick leave due to ongoing bullying, harassment, lack of support and continuing victimisation.

Our client has strong prospects of succeeding in claim under the Fair Work Act 2009 for breaches of the General Protections provisions, specifically repeated breaches of section 340 of that Act.

Our client is seeking compensation for her significant personal distress, including out of pocket medical expenses... Our client suffers … as a consequence of [the university’s] conduct…

We have also advised our client that [the university’s] repeated breaches of policy, failure to adhere to the Enterprise Agreement and failure to ensure our client’s workplace is free from bullying and harassment may be conduct that is actionable in breach of contract…”

NOTE: That has now become a breach of TWO CONTRACTS. THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INJURY MANAGEMENT PLAN AGREEMENT IS NON-NEGOTIABLE. Let readers now be my witnesses as to how diabolical these leaders have been, especially ones on salaries of over $1,000,000. Yes. The VC is on a salary package of over one million dollars, while committing fraud against quality employees. That is coming up. All documented. All concrete evidence. No allegations. Only the truth. 

“Return to Work

That said, it is our client’s preference to return to the workplace…

… Further, we also put you on notice that any action taken against our client as a consequence of this letter, is unlawful.”

I’m still waiting for the above to happen. I’ve always said it’s what I expect, have a right to, a safe work environment this time, and it is NON-NEGOTIABLE. 

For readers who haven’t read the initial bullying, discrimination and harassment complaint, below are the links to the five part posts. It’s ridiculous to have to repeat myself, and I’m referring to systemic failure and abuse caused by everyone I tried - lawyers, regulators, Union, HSRs, discrimination and harassment advisors, NSW Police, federal and state MPs of my electorate, multiple ministers, both former and current government in office, ombudsman offices, and obstruction of justice within the Personal Injury Commission. I dodged a bullet by not allowing these “leaders” to coerce me to go down the path of the Fair Work Commission. Readers will learn why soon enough. 

In hindsight, there are parts to this letter I would have had edited. But I was deliberately being harassed and gaslit by psychos in HR and WHS to cause distress and cognitive overload. It was all cruel adverse action with intent to cause serious harm, sadly by staff mostly in the very WHS unit. 

WAKE UP SAFEWORK NSW.

Not to mention, I had no idea how all this “legal” stuff worked and was not in the headspace, in my fear and distress, to learn. No employee should ever be subjected to such abuse! And honestly, no one actually took the time to explain to me how all this was meant to work. Not employment or IRO funded workers compensation lawyers, not the Independent Review Office, not SafeWork NSW inspectors connected to the NSW State Insurance Regulatory Authority (except they communicate with each other when it suits them, and don’t when it doesn’t). As for the National Tertiary Education Union and what they did (or deliberately did not do), that is coming up too.

My story is still very much only at the beginning. 

This post is based on document 35. It displays adverse action for requesting generally protected workplace rights, discrimination, deception, malicious and vexatious conduct that condones engaging in WHS breaches and creating psychosocial hazards, not managing the risks as the PCBU is reasonably expected to do so, BY LAW. 

I will say this, like a broken record, because that’s the truth as per my volume of evidence. The university repeatedly refused to cooperate and follow standard policies and procedures, proving contraventions in multiple laws, refusing to comply with regulations and creating a huge mountain out of something that was serious but simple to resolve. Why would a university with a Mission like no other university, do this? 

The initial bullying, discrimination and harassment complaint that was never addressed or managed: 

1. Bullying, discrimination and harassment - the initial complaint that landed an entire family in a corporate psychopath’s lair : http://mystory-myvoice.blogspot.com/2024/07/bullying-discrimination-and-harassment.html

2. Part 2 - Bullying, discrimination and harassment - the initial complaint : http://mystory-myvoice.blogspot.com/2024/07/part-2-bullying-discrimination-and.html

3. Part 3 - Bullying, discrimination and harassment - the initial complaint : http://mystory-myvoice.blogspot.com/2024/07/part-3-bullying-discrimination-and.html

4. Part 4 - Bullying, discrimination and harassment - the initial complaint : http://mystory-myvoice.blogspot.com/2024/07/part-4-bullying-discrimination-and.html

5. Part 5 - Bullying, discrimination and harassment - the initial complaint : http://mystory-myvoice.blogspot.com/2024/07/part-5-bullying-discrimination-and.html