The Case

Rachael Roberts v VIEW Launceston Pty Ltd as trustee for the VIEW Launceston Unit Trust T/A View Launceston; Ms Lisa Bird; Mr James Bird (2015)

In 2010, Ms Roberts commenced employment with View Launceston Pty Ltd as a real estate agent. In February 2015, Ms Roberts alleged that two of her work colleagues, Mr James Bird and Mrs Lisa Bird, had bullied her at work by:

• humiliating her in front of an Australia Post worker by indicating she could not sign for deliveries;
• not letting her adjust the temperature of the air conditioning;
• making her wear the full work uniform when other employees were not required to;
• taking 9 days to process one of her property listings when it should have been done in under 1 day;
• not permitting her to take her laptop home;
• removing clients from her;
• refusing to change one of her online listings, which resulted in the loss of the listing;
• belittling the area in which she lived;
• refusing to acknowledge her and treating her differently to other employees;
• being hostile and aggressive towards her during a discussion in which she was complaining about not getting a fair display of her property listings in the front window;
• criticising her for complaining; and
• deleting her as a friend on Facebook (in the case of Mrs Bird).

Ms Robert’s employer did not have a workplace bullying policy in place.

Ms Roberts alleged that, as a result of the bullying, she suffered anxiety and depression, and was being treated by a psychologist. She filed an application in the Fair Work Commission (FWC) seeking orders that the bullying cease.

The Verdict

The FWC found that Ms Roberts had been bullied; the behaviour towards her was unreasonable and had been repeated over an extended period of time.

The FWC found that the action taken by Mrs Bird in unfriending Ms Roberts on Facebook was done to show Ms Roberts that Mrs Bird no longer liked Ms Roberts and did not want to associate with her. The FWC found that the act of unfriending, in light of the overall circumstances of the case, was a further incident of unreasonable bullying behaviour.

The FWC was also critical that the employer did not have a workplace bullying policy in place, as this lack of information led both the employer and the employees to form the view that no bullying had occurred.

The FWC issued a stop bullying order.

The Lesson

This case demonstrates the importance of implementing a workplace bullying policy and training all employees to comply with it. It also highlights the importance of engaging in appropriate conduct with work colleagues on social media.

Although the act of unfriending a work colleague on Facebook will not amount to bullying in every instance, it may amount to bullying when the conduct towards an employee is considered in its entirety.

Please note: Case law is reported as correct and current at time of publishing. Be aware that cases in lower courts may be appealed and decisions subsequently overturned.