Seek has accused Employment Hero of misusing data from its classifieds platform to lure jobseekers into joining the start-up’s own applications, in an escalation of a months-long dispute between the two companies.

Employment Hero launched legal action against Seek, a competitor and an investor through the latter’s venture capital fund, in July. It was alleged in the Federal Court that the ASX-listed giant had cut off Employment Hero’s access to a tool that allows its customers to post directly onto the widely used jobs platform, thereby engaging in anticompetitive conduct.