Sally Rugg has argued her salary of $160,000 was not enough to compensate for the overtime she was asked to work as chief-of-staff for teal MP Monique Ryan, with the Federal Court hearing the staffer sometimes put in more than 70 hours a week.
Key points:
- A lawyer for Sally Rugg told the court the staffer was "pushed or jostled into resigning"
- Ms Rugg's legal team say her salary, which included a top-up payment of more than $30,000 for overtime, did not compensate for her long hours
- Monique Ryan has previously said she will defend the action and has rejected Ms Rugg's claims against her
The working relationship between the pair deteriorated because of a number of incidents, the court was told, including when Ms Rugg was admonished by her boss for travelling on a plane while positive for COVID-19.
On Friday, Ms Rugg's lawyers said she had been working more than 70 hours a week for Dr Ryan, after the MP entered parliament last year.
Lawyer Angel Aleksov said Ms Rugg was "pushed or jostled into resigning" after refusing to do community engagement work for Dr Ryan, on top of her existing work.
Dr Ryan has previously said she would be defending the action and rejected Ms Rugg's claims against her.
Ms Rugg's legal team has gone to the Federal Court seeking to stop her termination from taking effect, and Ms Rugg is also seeking financial compensation from Dr Ryan and the Commonwealth, the official employer of parliamentary staffers.
However lawyers for Dr Ryan and the Commonwealth say the working relationship needs to end — with Commonwealth barrister Nicholas Harrington saying "a form of trench warfare has broken out".
Top-up payment not enough to cover overtime, lawyer says
Mr Aleksov said Ms Rugg wanted to return to work for Dr Ryan for the same salary, albeit with less responsibilities.
Court documents show Ms Rugg was paid an annual salary of $136,607, with a top-up payment of more than $30,000 for additional overtime hours.
However, Mr Aleksov said that additional payment came nowhere close to adequately compensating Ms Rugg.
"Ms Rugg was working 70-plus hours most weeks and most weekends. A salary of $130-ish, with a top-up of about $30,000 doesn't justify a person working 80 hours week in, week out," he said.
Mr Aleksov said the intense workload caused Ms Rugg to take stress leave in December. She remains on paid leave.
He said the legal dispute had "the flavour of a test case written all over it".
Ms Rugg's legal team believes the case could have relevance for political staffers and office workers who have clauses in their contracts about completing "reasonable" overtime.
Claims MP wanted to 'be prime minister'
In an affidavit filed to the Federal Court, Ms Rugg said she would regularly start work at 6am and finish after 10pm.
"I felt her expectations were impossible to meet," Ms Rugg said.
Ms Rugg alleged Dr Ryan once said to staff: "I want to be the prime minister one day, and I need to know my staff are prepared to work hard for me".
Outside court, Dr Ryan said she was joking when she made the remarks.
In her own affidavit, Dr Ryan denied that she had asked her chief-of-staff to work that hard.
"I never once gave Ms Rugg a direction that she should work that many hours or that many days per week," Dr Ryan said.
Dr Ryan acknowledged there were times when Ms Rugg worked 70 hours a week when parliament was sitting.
"She could have eased the pressure on herself had she delegated appropriately and managed the team effectively," Dr Ryan said.
Ms Rugg's employment extended until next week
Justice Debbie Mortimer said she was concerned about making an order forcing Dr Ryan to keep Ms Rugg on her staff, given the breakdown in the relationship between the pair.
On Friday afternoon, she said she had not reached a decision and told the parties she would announce one next Tuesday.
Earlier, she said she believed reuniting the pair as work colleagues could be problematic, given they were fighting each other in court.
"We're escalating the tension as we go through this, not de-escalating," she said.
"I can't unscramble the egg."
Dr Ryan's lawyer Matthew Minucci said it would not be suitable for Ms Rugg and Dr Ryan to work together again because their relationship had suffered "a fundamental and irreparable breakdown".
Mr Harrington, representing the Commonwealth, made several references to combat to illustrate how toxic the situation between the parties was.
"This is a war of allegation of and counter-allegation," he said.
Justice Mortimer said the ultimate dispute between the pair would need to be resolved at a trial.
"There are so many complex issues … there is going to be such a contest of credibility and reliability at trial," she said.
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIzLTAzLTAzL3NhbGx5LXJ1Z2ctbW9uaXF1ZS1yeWFuLWNvdXJ0LWhlYXJpbmctb3ZlcnRpbWUtY29tcGVuc2F0aW9uLzEwMjA1MDEzNNIBAA?oc=5
2023-03-03 06:11:15Z
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