Michelle Guthrie begins legal action against ABC
Ex-ABC managing director files a dispute in the Fair Work Commission against the broadcaster.
- Published by David Knox
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Former ABC Managing Director Michelle Guthrie is taking legal action against the public broadcaster.
Fairfax Media reports she has filed a dispute in the Fair Work Commission against the ABC, although it is not yet clear which provisions of the Fair Work Act will form the basis of her claim.
Following her dismissal last month Guthrie hinted at legal action.
“While my contract permits the board to terminate my appointment without cause and with immediate effect, I believe there is no justification for the board to trigger that termination clause,” she said at the time.
“At no point have any issues been raised with me about the transformation being undertaken, the Investing in Audiences strategy, and my effectiveness in delivering against that strategy.”
An ABC spokesman also confirmed Ms Guthrie had commenced legal action but would not comment further, saying: “The details of the claim are not a matter of public record.”
Source: ABC
3 Responses
Agree Bogues in the industry she works under expect the unexpected!
“My contract permits the board to terminate my appointment without cause and with immediate effect”. That is an own goal, and I expect the FWC will throw the case out as soon as it is received. I do feel sorry for the way she was treated, but legal action isn’t going to solve it.
From the Fairfax article …… “Ms Guthrie is expected to rely on the general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act, under which an employee may be protected from “adverse action”, including dismissal, allegedly taken against them after they exercised a “workplace right” such as making a complaint. In a dossier she circulated to the ABC board two days before she was sacked, Ms Guthrie appeared to lay the groundwork for the claim. She warned her termination would be seen as retribution for raising concerns about what she described as Mr Milne’s “inappropriate conduct towards me” and his alleged interference in the ABC’s independence.”