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Daily bullying made Jessica* sick. Now, after taking action with the FSU’s support, she feels safer at work than she has in years.

When Jessica moved to a new bank branch, her new manager started telling her daily that she was hopeless at her job and should quit.

The manager made insulting and degrading remarks to others in her team too.

"In the beginning I didn't realise it was affecting my health, but it really did,” said Jessica.

“After speaking with colleagues, I realised they also felt trapped and didn't know what to do.”

As an immigrant with English as her second language, Jessica doubted her own judgement of the situation.

"I give people chances, because I think, perhaps I'm missing some cultural cues. But in this case, it became clear after a while that the manager meant what she was saying."

The final straw

After another colleague broke down in tears at work over the manager's comments, Jessica called the FSU for support before raising a complaint with HR and asked to be moved to a different branch.

HR refused. Incredibly, they said nothing in her complaint warranted further investigation.

With the FSU's backing, Jessica lodged a bullying complaint with the Fair Work Commission (FWC).

The dispute caused HR to respond with an offer to transfer Jessica to another branch, which she accepted. They also pressured her to withdraw her FWC complaint.

Determined to stand her ground, Jessica refused.

At the FWC hearing, Jessica's employer argued that she wasn't performing in her role, that the manager's conduct was "reasonable management action", and that Jessica should be placed on an immediate performance improvement plan (PIP).

The FSU stood beside Jessica at the hearing and won three key outcomes:

• Her transfer to a different branch is now permanent.
• Her former manager is not permitted to contact Jessica under any circumstances.
• A three-month grace period before any PIP begins, giving her breathing room.

"The union gave me loads of support,” said Jessica.

“Once I was transferred away from my old branch and my old manager, I felt much safer and overall much happier.”

Since her case, Jessica has encouraged her colleagues to join the union, and many have.

Our member has shown great courage in coming forward to call out bullying in her workplace – something that is never easy for any worker to do.

If you've been treated unfairly at work, help is available. Contact us on 1300 366 378 or email [email protected].

FSU members can also read our fact sheet on workplace bullying – it outlines what is and isn’t considered bullying and what actions you can take if you are being bullied at work.

*Not member’s real name.