The Case

Mcatee v Holt (2023)

Ms Mcatee, a school cleaner employed by the Department of Education in Queensland (the Department), lodged an application for stop bullying orders with the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC). Ms Mcatee alleged her colleague, Ms Holt, had engaged in bullying against her in the form of:

• yelling and swearing at Ms Mcatee about a jacket left on the floor;
• telling Ms Mcatee to “get out of here, you don’t have f..cking business here”;
• telling Ms Mcatee she was “f..cking rude, …f..cking selfish and had no f..cking brain”;
• taking a photo of Ms Mcatee at work, without her consent;
• damaging Ms Mcatee’s car with a pen;
• gossiping about Ms Mcatee with others, as well as spreading rumours and misinformation;
• disrupting Ms Mcatee in her work by leaving windows open in Ms Mcatee’s work section in the hope Ms Mcatee would get into trouble; and
• telling other employees Ms Mcatee was a “f..cking bitch”.