Sussan Corporation (Aust) Pty Ltd [2014] QSC 64 the Supreme Court of Queensland has demonstrated that failing to deal with workplace bullying and harassment complaints by employees can be a costly mistake.
The Sussan Corporation was ordered to pay Ms Keegan just under $240,000 for damages for personal injury and consequential loss as a result of Sussan’s negligence, breach of contract and breach of statutory duty.
Ms Keegan had been employed by Sussan’s since 2004. Whilst she was on maternity leave the store manager left the store and a new manager was employed.
The Complaint
It was alleged by Ms Keegan that she had been bullied and harassed by the new manager over a period of 11 days after she returned to work. It was complained that the new manager’s behaviour included:
• Unwarranted criticism about various matters such as the previous state of the store, failure to remove security tags from clothing, not signing up
customers as VIP’s and poor handwriting;
• Excluding Ms Keegan from business management matters and ignoring Ms Keegan’s offers of assistance; and
• Speaking to Ms Keegan aggressively, including during a confrontation about a mop where Ms Clarke held a mop head about 10cm from Ms Keegan’s face and challenged Ms Keegan’s comment that the mop was not in a good condition.
Sussan’s Queensland Business Manager contacted Ms Keegan on the third working day and asked Ms Keegan how things were progressing. At this time Ms Keegan replied that she was enjoying being back at work and the new manager was ‘good’. The following day however, following the incident with the mop, Ms Keegan phoned back in tears raising her concerns about bullying.
How the Complaint was Dealt with by the Employer
It was alleged that upon hearing the concerns of Ms Keegan, the Queensland Business Manager responded that she should “put some lippy on and go home to [her] bub” and that she would speak to the new manager regarding the conduct.
Sussan Corporation had in place a bullying and harassment policy that required all complaints to be taken seriously, treated confidentially and investigated.
Rather than follow the policy, the Queensland Business Manager advised the new manager of the complaint and told her that she needed to be more mindful of how she dealt with Ms Keegan moving forward. The court was critical of Sussan’s failure to follow the policy on this point stating, “confidentiality was not respected … (and) no attempt at all was made to investigate the complaint.’’
Upon Ms Keegan returning to work the new manager confronted her about the allegations she had made and the relationship further deteriorated. Ms Keegan made another complaint to the Queensland Business Manager however, was told that she would need to work it out for herself with the new manager.
As a consequence of Sussan’s failure to deal with the complaint correctly, Ms Keegan’s health deteriorated, she became unfit for work and she became incapable of caring for herself or her child.
Training of Managers
This case highlights the importance of ensuring that managers are properly trained in handling and responding to complaints as well as communicating with employees.
Once the training has been provided there should be continued monitoring and any deficiencies must be addressed when they become apparent.
Implementing and Following Policies
It is important that a bullying and harassment policy is implemented which provides in detail how a complaint is to be managed. In this case, a policy had been implemented, however was not followed.
It must be ensured by employers that their bullying and harassment policies are followed and all complaints dealt with correctly. Although doing so may not necessarily ensure mental well being for all employees it would most likely assist.
In particular, this case highlights the importance of correctly investigating all complaints. If an investigation had occurred, it would most likely have been determined that the new manager was bullying Ms Keegan, proper disciplinary action could have occurred and Ms Keegan would have been provided with proper support thereby reducing the stress on her.
Dealing with Complaints
Bullying and harassment complaints must be taken seriously as employers have a legal duty to take reasonable care for the safety of their employees.
Sussan was aware that they had an inexperienced manager and should have predicted that Ms Keegan’s return to work, as a previous assistant manager, may test the new manager’s abilities. It was decided by the court that a reasonable person would not have predicted that Ms Keegan would have suffered a psychological injury based on the information known by Sussans. Ms Keegan’s phone call on the fourth day however, put Sussan on notice that if they did not deal with the complaint appropriately it would be reasonably foreseeable that she would suffer an injury.
Even where the actions being complained of may be seen to be trivial or minor by an employer, the way in which the complaint is dealt with may not only resolve the problem but will be an important factor should legal proceedings be commenced. It was said by the Supreme Court in this case that a reasonable person in the position of Sussans ought to have realised that the inappropriate handling of the matter would not only allow the bullying to continue but further distress the employee who had looked to the employer for help in their time of need.
This again highlights the importance of dealing with and responding to complaints in an appropriate manner.
Personality Traits of Employees
Sussan Corporation had argued that the injury suffered by Ms Keegan was extraordinary and unforeseen, that she had personality traits that made her predisposed to psychological injury and that the care provided by Ms Keegan’s husband and mother exacerbated her injury.
The court disagreed with these arguments deciding that although Ms Keegan’s personality traits did make her more vulnerable to suffering an injury and the care provided by her husband and mother impeded her recovery, these factors were not causative of her injury.
Although the personality traits of employees cannot be changed, employers must ensure that they pro actively deal with behaviour of employees in the work place and appropriately deal with all bullying and harassment claims made. Advice If you are an employer and are not sure if you have adequate systems in place to deal with bullying complaints please contact your preferred solicitor at our firm who will be able to review your practices and help implement new procedures if necessary.
We are also able to assist you to deal with any complaints that are made noting that dealing with complaints promptly and adequately has always been the best advice and the decision discussed in this article just confirms that.
