An employee in
Australia has been awarded a huge AUD$1.7 million compensation payment for
being repeatedly harassed, mistreated, devalued and undermined by her CEO over
almost a year. The employee was diagnosed
with a variety of illnesses including anxiety and depression and retired unable
to return to work.
The behaviour
complained about included public humiliation of the employee, refusing requests
for information, isolating her from her co-workers and undermining her.
The Court found that
this behaviour should have been recognised for what it was and stopped. The employer’s failure to do so made it
responsible for the CEO’s actions. An
interesting aspect of this case is that as this involved the CEO as the
perpetrator, it would have involved a whistleblower or someone to let the board
know of the CEO’s behaviour. Not an easy
position for a co-worker to be put in but this did not save the employer from
liability for its CEO’s actions.
In New Zealand the
behaviour of the CEO would be taken to be the actions of the employer as the
CEO manages the staff. If the
perpetrator was another manager or colleague (not the CEO) then the employer
will only be responsible if the behaviour was brought to the employer’s
attention and it failed to deal properly with it.
Alan
Knowsley
Employment Lawyer Wellington
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