In a recent decision the Fair Work Commission has dismissed an application for an anti-bullying order, finding that the employer was not unreasonable in requiring the employee to attend at the workplace and restricting her outside employment.
The Facts
The employee applied for an order to stop bullying alleging that she was subjected to repeated unreasonable conduct while at work, arising from her insistence that she should be permitted to continue her remote working arrangements, and the employer should not restrict her outside employment.
The employee said that she was treated differently from other employees in the same circumstances.
She produced a doctor’s certificate stating that her symptoms included anxiety and emotional distress that the doctor considered to be consistent with an experience of bullying.
The Decision
The Deputy President dismissed the case, finding that the case was without merit, the employer’s requirements were not unreasonable, and the matter was simply a dispute about working arrangements, not about the mistreatment of a worker.
The Deputy President was not satisfied that there was any differential treatment entailing the ‘singling out’ of the employee.
The Deputy President also found that the medical certificate did not establish that her anxiety and emotional distress were caused by bullying, observing that “[the employee] is very upset that her employer has refused the working arrangements she wants. But that does not equate to a health and safety risk.”
Implications
The case is a reminder that simply being upset about working arrangements is not grounds to apply for an anti-bullying order.
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