The organisation responsible for enforcing professional standards for accountants threatened to sack an employee for organising drinks where she was sexually harassed and kissed without her consent by a senior executive, according to a claim filed in the Federal Court.

Jacinta Bailey, an events specialist at Chartered Accountants Australia & New Zealand, said she was “belittled” and “victimised” after making a complaint about the conduct, which resulted in an investigation into her own responsibility for organising an “unauthorised drinks” following the group’s afternoon Christmas party.