Employers don’t have to put up with toxic bullying claims

FWC (Applicant (AB2025/40) [2025] FWC 2459 (22 August 2025)) recently dismissed a worker’s "absurd" and "baseless" claims of bullying and micromanagement against a senior WHS professional and ten other employees, demonstrating that employers shouldn’t and don’t have to put up with toxic claims.

In this case the worker, who had never met or spoken to the WHS professional, alleged that the professional's emails addressing his complaints about air quality in the office (over a period of 3 months) were intimidatory as well as then extending the complaint to other employees, including line managers, senior HR and IT managers and an in-house lawyer (who they had also never met).

FWC went further by identifying the worker's behaviour as rude and unreasonable providing this ‘sting in the tail’ as part of the reasoning: “he would be wise to focus on completing his duties to the best of his ability and refrain from making further baseless complaints”.

Our Take

Well done FWC for calling this type of behaviour out.

We have noticed an unfortunate consequence of this type of toxic behaviour (often fuelled by ChatGPT) is that many managers to avoid addressing such issues or simply concede to a toxic employee’s demands to avoid further dispute.

This decision underscores the importance of maintaining professionalism and restraint when dealing with unreasonable complaints. The WHS professional's detailed and thorough response to the worker's concerns about air quality in the office was found to be perfectly reasonable because they consistently responded in a professional, calm and considerate manner. It also highlights the importance of having clear and thorough documentation to support the actions taken in response to employee complaints. Without it, this employer may have lost their case.

Action Items:

• Train Managers on Handling Complaints: Ensure that all managers are trained on how to handle employee complaints professionally and with restraint.

• Document Interactions: Maintain detailed and thorough documentation of all interactions with employees, especially those involving complaints or grievances.

• Promote Professionalism: Encourage a culture of professionalism and calmness in all interactions with employees.

• Review and Update Policies: Regularly review and update workplace policies to ensure they are clear and comprehensive.

• Support for Accused Employees: Provide support and resources for employees who are accused of misconduct to ensure they can respond appropriately and professionally.

Edge Legal

Relationships. Respect. Results