The things you think about determine the quality of your mind. Your soul takes on the color of your thoughts.
— Marcus Aurelius, born on this date in 121
Executive sues over HR gossip and surveillance
A senior executive is seeking damages over claims his employer’s human resources chief spread false gossip about him in the workplace and charged his direct report to spy on him.
Australian Dairy Park supply chain operations director Marko Peric has taken Federal Court action against Ausnutria’s infant milk subsidiary over alleged bullying by its HR head, including allegedly exclusionary conduct, unfounded rumours, surveillance, public naming and shaming, and a willingness to arbitrarily fire staff.
Marko Peric alleged the HR manager’s conduct left him in an unsafe work environment. Louie Douvis
Mr Peric, who has been on WorkCover since May last year due to anxiety, has argued the alleged actions resulted in loss of income, damage to his mental health, medical expenses, and an “ongoing unfitness to work”.
ADP has denied the allegations and noted the HR director had also accused Mr Peric of bullying.
According to Mr Peric’s statement of claim, he found out in 2022 that HR director Tracey Jen had been telling staff that “Marko hates [one of his direct reports]”.
When Mr Peric asked Ms Jen why she had said that, she allegedly replied, “but everyone knows that it’s true”.
Mr Peric denied it was and complained to CEO Bruce Li that it was “totally unprofessional” for the HR director to be the source of rumours and gossip.
The CEO allegedly told him other staff had raised concerns that Ms Jen “had a problem with talking inappropriately” and that he had warned her about her behaviour.
The following year, Mr Peric’s report, a HR manager for the supply chain department, told him Ms Jen had asked her to be her “eyes and ears” and to report back on what she observed of Mr Peric’s activities and who he was speaking to.
When Mr Peric complained to the CEO, Mr Li allegedly told him “that is how HR works, how they manage the situation and the business”.
Mr Peric said the surveillance was done without due cause and eroded the trust between him and Ms Jen, “thereby exposing him to an unsafe working environment”.
The gossip was also “humiliating and damaging” to his reputation and compromised his capacity to perform his role.
The company’s defence said that “it does not know and cannot admit” the claims of surveillance or false gossip.
Ms Jen later sought to fire the HR manager during her probation, allegedly telling Mr Peric that she could do what she liked, according to court documents.
But Mr Peric said he told Ms Jen that he was sick of her behaviour and if the HR manager was sacked he would also resign.
“If you can’t work with people you don’t like, then maybe it’s you who should f--- off,” he said, according to his statement of claim.
Mr Peric later apologised for swearing but told the CEO that he believed Ms Jen’s decisions were creating a risk to the business.
In its defence, the company alleged Mr Peric said Ms Jen’s “existence in the company is the biggest threat to the company”, he accused her of being a liar, mocked Ms Jen and laughed at her, raised his voice and said words to the effect of “f--- off! I will protect her”.
Ms Jen applied to the Fair Work Commission for an anti-bullying order against Mr Peric that demanded a public apology from him.
The company alleged that Mr Peric admitted he had engaged in inappropriate conduct by telling her to “f--- off” and threatening to quit, but denied it was bullying. The application was later withdrawn following a resolution.
Mr Peric also complained that Ms Jen effectively excluded him in meetings with senior management by speaking Mandarin.
When Mr Peric raised concerns that Ms Jen had identified staff involved in a “near miss” safety incident in a company newsletter, she allegedly replied they should be “named and shamed for acting unsafely, and should be terminated”.
The company objected that the alleged complaints were not particularised and denied the claims.
The parties are currently in mediation.
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David Marin-Guzman writes about industrial relations, workplace, policy and leadership from Sydney. Connect with David on Twitter. Email David at david.marin-guzman@afr.com
