In short:
Former WorkSafe ACT employee Leith Dawes has alleged he was sacked after complaining about the regulator's own workplace culture.
Mr Dawes has taken the office of the ACT's Work Health and Safety Commissioner to the Federal Circuit Court, alleging a breach of general workplace protections.
What next:
Mr Dawes is seeking more than $400,000 in compensation. The case is set to go to mediation in mid-July.
A former employee of the ACT's workplace regulator has alleged he was sacked from the organisation after complaining about its own workplace culture.
Leith Dawes, 39, has taken the office of the ACT's Work Health and Safety Commissioner to the Federal Circuit Court, alleging a breach of general workplace protections.
In documents lodged with the court, Mr Dawes claimed he was "subjected to direct and intentional workplace bullying and harassment by several employees" at WorkSafe ACT from the time he commenced employment as a regulatory inspector in late March 2023.
He argued he was sacked "as a consequence of and directly after" complaining about the alleged instances of bullying and harassment, including in an email directly to Commissioner Jacqueline Agius.
After a probationary report recommended the termination of his employment, the documents revealed Mr Dawes experienced a "major psychological breakdown" for which he was hospitalised.
Mr Dawes returned to work several weeks later in a revised role, but was formally terminated in August 2023 on the grounds of "serious misconduct".
This was after a second probationary report concluded he had an "satisfactory" relationship with colleagues, among other claims, which Mr Dawes has rejected.
The Commissioner's office has filed a defence, in which it said the finding of serious misconduct was based on Mr Dawes's "cumulative behaviour" which it deemed "inconsistent with the ACT public service".
Allegations of bullying
The examples of bullying Mr Dawes alleged included being referred to as "newbie", despite requests to use his legal name, and being physically blocked in the workplace kitchen.
He also alleged that during an inspection of a construction site, a colleague "intentionally drove away" from him as he attempted to enter the vehicle, before the driver laughed at him.
On May 28, 2023, about two months after he started at WorkSafe ACT, Mr Dawes sent an email to three senior WorkSafe personnel, including the Work Health and Safety Commissioner Jacqueline Agius.
In court documents, Mr Dawes described the email as a "circumspect complaint" about his experience at the organisation.
Upon his return, Mr Dawes was asked to attend a probation review meeting, in which he received the report recommending the termination of his employment.
The reasons given included poor communication with some colleagues, and attending the workplace outside the regular hours.
Mr Dawes argued he "had not previously been made aware of any of the areas of his employment that required development or were unsatisfactory".
The following day, he was hospitalised for mental health reasons, a stay which lasted for three weeks.
WorkSafe ACT says incidents don't amount to bullying
In response, the Commissioner's office has argued the incidents Mr Dawes complained of did not meet the threshold of workplace bullying as defined in the Fair Work Act.
"None of the behaviours alleged, … taken separately or in combination, amount to the applicant having been bullied at work," it said.
It has also rejected Mr Dawes's characterisation of his email to the three senior WorkSafe personnel.
"This email was considered by the respondent to be a form of constructive feedback as opposed to a formal complaint," it said.
The Commissioner's office argued Mr Dawes's manager "spoke to him numerous times about his interactions with WorkSafe ACT staff and provided him with strategies to manage these interactions".
"These discussions were informal and supportive."
While it acknowledged Mr Dawes was hospitalised, it said it did not have the medical information to confirm he had experienced a psychological breakdown.
WorkSafe ACT appointed an investigator to examine the allegations Mr Dawes had made in his email on May 28.
Court documents state that the investigator's report was delivered to Commissioner Jacqueline Agius in late July 2023.
By the time Mr Dawes was terminated for what WorkSafe deemed was "serious misconduct" on August 23, Ms Agius had not decided what action, if any, she would take on the matter.
The Commissioner's office has argued consideration of the report, and any requirement to inform Mr Dawes of the outcome, became unnecessary upon his termination, because he was no longer covered by the enterprise agreement.
Mr Dawes is seeking more than $400,000 in compensation for financial loss, as well as the "hurt, humiliation and distress" he said he had experienced.
The case is set to go to mediation in mid-July.
If that fails, the case may go to a hearing in the Federal Circuit Court.