Qld school worker denied promotion to role she’s filled for four years

Public servants acting in a higher role expecting to be promoted have been dealt a stark wake-up call by the Qld Industrial Relations Commission.

Fleur Cushing is an AO2 admin officer at Varsity College on the Gold Coast. Picture: Richard Gosling

A public servant has lost her battle to be permanently promoted to a higher role despite acting in the position for almost four years and her predecessor indicating they would relinquish the role.

The administration officer at a public school took her case to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission, arguing the Education Department’s refusal to permanently appoint her in the role as “unfair and unreasonable”.

But the QIRC ruled against her in a bid to avoid appointing too many permanent employees despite expressing “sympathy” given all of the indications the officer received that she would be made permanent.

Fleur Cushing is an AO2 admin officer at Varsity College on the Gold Coast, but she has been acting as an AO5 business manager at Clover Hill State School since January 2020.

Her acting arrangement has an end date of December 8 this year, when the Department says the incumbent employee is due to return after temporarily filling another role.

Ms Cushing requested a review of her secondment in June.

But the Department decided not to permanently employ her in the higher role due to “genuine operational requirements and service delivery needs”.

Ms Cushing said Clover Hill State School principal Martine Gill told her that the incumbent employee advised in October 2022 they intended to relinquish their position.

“I imagine [the incumbent] will need to sign paperwork? Once that is all done, we can move straight to you moving into it permanently,” Ms Gill emailed Ms Cushing.

The Department argued their decision was justified because the incumbent is still employed in the role and they are due to return in December. ‘

The Department also said it would be improper resource management to have two permanent employees in the same role.

According to the QIRC judgment, Ms Cushing said there is no reasonable basis not to convert her to the higher role, based on the incumbent employee’s desire not to return.

“The Department’s complacency in having too many business managers appointed and in substantive roles should not be an impediment to converting (me) in circumstances where (I am) eligible and suitable for the role,” Ms Cushing submitted.

Ms Cushing said she had not applied for other permanent positions in the region because of the indications that she would be made permanent in the AO5 business manager role.

Industrial Commissioner Samantha Pidgeon, who heard the case, said the incumbent employee applied to officially leave the position in October 2022.

The Department denied the request because other business managers in the region had recently left.

Ultimately, Industrial Commissioner Pidgeon ruled against Ms Cushing, concluding that the incumbent employee must be given until December 9 to return to the role, if they wish.

“If I were to appoint Ms Cushing to the role at the higher classification, I may well create a situation where from December 9, there are two permanently employed individuals reporting to work for the same single business manager role at the school,” she ruled.

“I have sympathy for the position Ms Cushing finds herself in.

“From the tone and nature of the email correspondence, it is clear that her principal similarly believes that the incumbent occupant of the role will not be returning.

“If the substantive incumbent chooses not to return on December 9 … the Department would need to be giving serious thought to whether it is fair and reasonable for Ms Cushing to continue to be substantively permanently employed as an AO2, having completed four years of service in an AO5 role.”