Optus' former digital marketing head Kerry Morrison is suing the telco for $14.5 million due to allegations of a culture of bullying.
Morrison suddenly left her role at Optus at the beginning of February, as reported exclusively by AdNews. At the time, Optus would not comment on the reasons for her sudden departure. She left the role after only a few months.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, a statement of claim filed in the Federal Court in NSW has alleged she was not protected from workplace bullying, and that she was terminated without notice. She is seeking damages for reputation and future earnings. She has also said she is trying to curb an alleged culture of bullying at the telco.
Optus has asserted her claims are “unjustified”, saying it will defend its position.
A statement provided to AdNews said: “Given this is the subject of legal proceedings, we are only able to confirm that we will vigorously defend our position against what we believe to be unjustified claims.”
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Morrison has claimed she was terminated without notice on 7 February, by her supervisor Austin Bryan, who is the head of the company's digital media division.
She has also reportedly alleged Optus did not warn her about strong tensions between Bryan's department and that of Michael Smith, who is currently marketing director but was the head of the Consumer division at the time. It has been alleged Smith would not support initiatives suggested by Morrison, and became “physically aggressive and overbearing” at one particular meeting on 11 January.
The statement of claim has been filed by Harmers Workplace Lawyers.
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