Public Servant Wins Compensation for Anxiety, Depression Caused at Five-Day-A-Week Job
A NSW-based public servant has won compensation following her legal fight over anxiety and depressive disorders caused by the office ambience. The Sydney Administrative Appeals Tribunal agreed with the plaintiff’s contention that she had suffered from psychological disorders after she was asked to work for an extra day per week.
Jenny Pettiford was recruited by Centrelink as a psychologist. Her working hours were fixed from 7 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday. But she was told by her boss to come on all weekdays between 8 am to 55 pm. She was even warned that the five-day was “not negotiable".
The stress caused her to suffer from anxiety disorder following a meeting with her boss in 2011 that worsened her condition.
The tribunal ruled that the employer acted "unreasonably" by telling the employee to work in a manner violating the set service conditions. It ordered the employer to pay Jenny “full wages for her first 10 months off work and 75 per cent of her salary for the remainder of her absence even iif it continues for life along with medical expenses.
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