NBN BULLYING CASE DECISION

In a Decision handed down 2 weeks ago, the FWC found that our member has been bullied at work. The full decision is publicly available on the Application by Mr Adam Camilleri - [2025] FWC 1349 | Fair Work Commission. FWC webpage at Application by Mr Adam Camilleri - [2025] FWC 1349 | Fair Work Commission.
There are several lessons in the case. We deal with two more this week. More next week.

NBN BULLYING: NATURAL JUSTICE NEEDED

The importance of proper notice of a meeting, the provision of any available material, the right to have a support person and the right to genuine consideration of any response arose. Extract from Decision:

[18] Mr Fitzpatrick subsequently met with Mr Camilleri on 17 September 2024 to provide Mr Camilleri with four weeks of notice that his RDO rostering arrangement would cease, and his last RDO would be taken on or before 17 October 2024, depending on when it falls.
It is clear from the documentary evidence that the decision to remove Mr Camilleri from the RDO roster was made before Mr Fitzpatrick met with Mr Camilleri on 17 September 2024, and that Mr Camilleri was not provided with the timesheet data to review prior to the meeting commencing.
Mr Camilleri was also not advised the meeting was directed at the removal of his RDO. Mr Camilleri was hence not provided with a genuine opportunity to bring a support person to the meeting with Mr Fitzpatrick because he did not know the significance of the meeting.
Mr Fitzpatrick stated he was advised by Ms Wright from NBN Co's support services team that Mr Camilleri did not need to be offered a support person for a meeting regarding the removal of a RDO.
It appears that advice was given on the basis that the removal of the RDO was an administrative matter, rather than a disciplinary matter.
I doubt that advice was well placed, even if it was strictly correct.

[19]. It would have been appropriate for Mr Camilleri to be provided with proper notice of the meeting and an opportunity to bring a support person to the meeting.

NBN BULLYING: SOD CASE NOTED

The dispute was not argued in the bullying case, as that is a matter to be determined in our Court application. It was referred to in the proceedings as it provided context to some situations. The FWC made the point (correctly) that even though a dispute exists, Mr Camilleri must still follow directions from Management.
The FWC stated:

[78] The comments above should not be understood as suggesting that Mr Camilleri should stop agitating concerns about his employment conditions.
Mr Camilleri is perfectly entitled to do this and is protected from adverse action.

TZV SUPPORT STAFF EBA

This week we will have our first meeting with TZV to negotiate a new Support Staff EBA. Our steering committee will meet Monday to continue preparation. While out Steering Committee has a number of members, the negotiations will be with a smaller group sourced from the Steering Committee - as appropriate for the subject matter.
Our committee members are working on the Log of claims. We intend to publish the log asap and seek comment.

MECS REVIEW

We met with Nicole Ashworth this week to respond to the proposal by TZV to change the MECS structure. We are setting up a small working party to deal with these matters. Some notes from the meeting:

Employee's period of continuous service with the employer  Period of notice
Not more than 1 year                                       At least 1 week
More than 1 year but not more than 3 years                 At least 2 weeks
More than 3 years but not more than 5 years                At least 3 weeks
More than 5 years                                          At least 4 weeks
The minimum period of notice is increased by 1 week 
if over 45 and completed 2 years' continuous service.