{"id":8266,"date":"2018-02-08T05:39:20","date_gmt":"2018-02-08T05:39:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.olexo.com.au\/employee-made-to-feel-worthless-was-not-bullied-despite-insensitive-comments\/"},"modified":"2018-02-08T05:39:20","modified_gmt":"2018-02-08T05:39:20","slug":"employee-made-to-feel-worthless-was-not-bullied-despite-insensitive-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/?p=8266","title":{"rendered":"Employee made to feel \u201cworthless\u201d was not bullied despite \u201cinsensitive\u201d comments"},"content":{"rendered":"

Published 8 February 2018<\/em><\/p>\n

In a recent case, John Krnjic <\/i> [2017] FWC 3688, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) found that a Team Leader did not bully a Team Member despite her comments being \u201cinsensitive\u201d.<\/p>\n

Mr Krnjic commenced employment with Bunnings in 2009. In April 2016, a new Team Leader was appointed to his division.<\/p>\n

On 19 May 2016, the Team Leader was working with Mr Krnjic and asked what happened to his face. Mr Krnjic, whose \u201cface droops\u201d and \u201cis unable to move his left arm\u201d, stated that he found the question \u201cdeeply disrespectful and hurtful\u201d. The Team Leader contended that she only asked because she wanted to ensure his health and safety.<\/p>\n

On 8 June 2016, Mr Krnjic went to the tool shop to get a Work Assisted Vehicle. He contended the Team Leader rang him and engaged in \u201cincessant questioning\u201d. Another employee described her actions as \u201cpure harassment\u201d.<\/p>\n

On 9 June 2016, Mr Krnjic went to retrieve a Work Assisted Vehicle for another employee, however on his way back he was asked for some help. Mr Krnjic argued the Team Leader \u201cburst into the aisle and abruptly asked [him] what [he] was doing there.\u201d He claimed he was singled out and treated differently from other Team Members.<\/p>\n

On 10 June 2016, Mr Krnjic requested to speak with the Store Manager about his concerns, but was told she was too busy. He became increasingly stressed and took two days off work because of this work related stress.<\/p>\n

On 15 June 2016, a meeting between the Coordinator and Mr Krnjic was held and he was told he had been suspended and an investigation was being carried out. He received a letter informing him that he was required to attend a meeting on 22 June 2016 to address allegations that he was not performing tasks as directed and had spoken to his Team Leader disrespectfully.<\/p>\n

Mr Krnjic claimed the whole process made him feel \u201cworthless and totally degraded\u201d and sought an order to stop bullying.<\/p>\n

Bunnings rejected the application by arguing a lack of repeated unreasonable behaviour.<\/p>\n

Decision<\/u><\/p>\n

The FWC noted there were three requirements for an order to be granted. Firstly, there must be repeated unreasonable behaviour, which can occur over different periods and encompass a range of behaviours. Secondly, there must be behaviour considered by a reasonable person to be unreasonable. Lastly, there must be a link between the unreasonable behaviour and a risk to health and safety.<\/p>\n

The Team Leader\u2019s comments were found to be \u201cat best, insensitive and inappropriate\u201d, but they were not delivered in a \u201cmalicious way\u201d and did not satisfy the requirement of repeated unreasonable behaviour.<\/p>\n

The FWC found the Team Leader\u2019s actions on 8 and 9 June 2016 did not constitute unreasonable behaviour. It was practical for her to want to know where each Team Member was given that she was responsible for them.<\/p>\n

It was noted by the FWC that because she was a newly appointed Team Leader, she may have dealt with matters in a way that concerned long-standing employees. However, the FWC stated this did not constitute workplace bullying.<\/p>\n

As a result, the FWC dismissed the application.<\/p>\n

Key issues for employers<\/u><\/p>\n

This matter highlighted that reasonable management action performed by an employer does not constitute bullying, even if it did involve \u201cinsensitive and inappropriate\u201d comments.<\/p>\n

The FWC also highlighted several \u201cconcerning\u201d aspects of the case that employers should be aware of. Mr Krnjic was suspended after making a complaint about his Team Leader, but was not immediately informed of the reason for his suspension. Further, his senior managers did not make themselves available to speak to him about any concerns that he had.<\/p>\n

It is important that employers provide a reason to their employee if they are suspended, and make time to listen to any concerns that they might have.<\/p>\n

Read the full decision here<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

This content is general in nature and provides a summary of the issues covered. It is not intended to be, nor should it be relied upon, as legal or professional advice for specific employment situations.<\/p>\n

Working Knowledge recommends that specialist legal advice should be sought about specific legal issues.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Published 8 February 2018 In a recent case, John Krnjic [2017] FWC 3688, the Fair Work Commission (FWC) found that a Team Leader did not bully a Team Member despite her comments being \u201cinsensitive\u201d. Mr Krnjic commenced employment with Bunnings in 2009. In April 2016, a new Team Leader was appointed to his division. On […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[201],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8266"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8266"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8266\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8266"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8266"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/workn.net.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8266"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}