Hi Victoria-Jane!
Post #1
The Wiggles' former CEO is suing The Wiggles.
And not just the company.
He's also named Anthony Field (the Blue Wiggle) as a personal respondent.
Luke O'Neill alleges that after a string of complaints about certain staffing and operational decisions, he was:
Sidelined
Excluded from key operational decisions and meetings
Had his responsibilities reduced
Then terminated without prior notice or performance management
He's pressing forward with a claim under the general protections provisions of the Fair Work Act.
Here's what surprises most people about this jurisdiction:
There's no cap on compensation.
In unfair dismissal, what can be ordered by way of compensation is capped - either a specific sum or 6 months' equivalent pay.
In general protections, there's no such cap.
And individuals can be named personally.
The court can award civil penalties against people - not just companies - for knowingly engaging in contraventions.
We don't often see that in the unfair dismissal jurisdiction.
But it is something that's very much available here.
We'll be keeping our eyes on this one.
The Wiggles matter to a lot of households.
Mine included.
Post #2
Most people have heard of unfair dismissal.
Far fewer understand general protections.
And that gap is expensive.
In a general protections claim, it's not the employee who has to prove the connection between their complaint and the action taken against them.
It's the employer who has to prove it wasn't.
It's an unusual kind of difference.
Almost like a reverse onus.
The employer needs to demonstrate that the actions complained about weren't actually taken as a consequence of the exercise of workplace rights.
Take the Wiggles case.
Their former CEO, Luke O'Neill, alleges that after a string of complaints about staffing and spending decisions - things that were directly impacting his own bonuses - he was sidelined, excluded from key meetings, had his responsibilities reduced, and was eventually terminated without prior notice or performance management.
The Wiggles now need to demonstrate that each of those actions would have been taken irrespective of his complaints.
That's not easy.
This is why general protections matters to every business.
Not just ones being sued by a former CEO.
Post #3
A journalist has just contacted you.
What do you do?
Most people go straight to legal. And yes, that matters.
But it's very easy to get siloed in the legal question and not think about the impact that ongoing reporting or adverse media commentary can have.
There is a court of public opinion.
There's a lot of judgement and information that can be assumed from certain publications.
At BlackBay, we take a dual approach.
A big part of our media law practice extends beyond traditional legal strategies - it's also crisis communication and engaging with journalists when a crisis or potential story arises.
Sometimes it's appropriate to put your side of the story to the journalist on the record.
Sometimes it needs to be done on an off-the-record or backgrounding basis.
And sometimes it might be that there is nothing to be said at all.
That's a determination we make case by case.
Ultimately, you can be successful in the court action in front of you. But what happens if you drop the ball on the other aspect and don't consistently defend your reputation throughout?
Because winning in court means nothing if your clients have already left, your staff found out from the news, and the public has made up their mind.
