Beauty giant Mecca facing case in Melbourne civil tribunal

After Mecca’s former chief of marketing settled maternity leave discrimination allegations against the company, the beauty giant is facing fresh court action in Victoria.

Mecca is facing a new court action.

Cosmetics giant Mecca Brands is facing fresh court action from a former employee in ­Melbourne.

A new case has been lodged against Mecca in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal’s human rights division, launched by a woman whose identity The Australian has chosen not to disclose.

Mecca objected to the release of documents on June 27, a deadline set by VCAT for parties to provide arguments against disclosure, and as a result there are limited ­details that can be reported about the case for now.

The VCAT orders state that on June 25, “VCAT (advised) the parties of the media inspection request and advised that if no party objected to the media inspection request by June 27, VCAT would follow the usual procedures in ­relation to the media inspection request.

Mecca Cosmetica founder Jo Horgan.

The orders add that on June 27, “the legal representatives for the respondent objected to the media inspection request and provided submissions in support of their­ ­objection”.

A Mecca spokeswoman told The Australian: “We are aware that a claim has been filed in VCAT on behalf of a former team member.

“We do not agree with the allegations made in the claim, and we intend to defend this matter.

“To protect the privacy of those involved, we do not intend to make any further comment about the claim at this stage.”

The parties will take part in mediation this month, and after that The Australian can reapply for access to the documents. The matter is included on the human rights list.

The new case comes after a former senior Mecca worker – Alethea Larkin – settled her unfair dismissal claims against the company in late February.

Ms Larkin, who was head of brand marketing, claimed in the Federal Court that she was being discriminated against by the company, which was considering making her role redundant while she was on maternity leave.

She further alleged the company refused to honour a promise of holding “keeping in touch days” and failed to identify suitable redeployment opportunities.

In a pleading lodged in February and obtained by The Australian, Ms Larkin alleged she worked excessive hours and was threatened by her former boss.

A member of the extended leadership team, Ms Larkin alleged in her pleading that she was required to be available at all hours, and deliver brand plans for more than 200 products within condensed time frames.

After Ms Larkin withdrew her case, Mecca said in late February: “Alethea’s employment with Mecca was terminated by way of redundancy”, with effect from February 26.

“She accepts that her position is being made redundant as part of a restructure and therefore has agreed to discontinue her claim against Mecca,” it said.

Ms Larkin’s case prompted several former workers to speak to The Australian about Mecca’s workplace culture.

All requested anonymity, with most citing fears about repercussions for their careers in the industry if their names were published due to the reach of the company.

Jo Horgan founded Mecca in 1997 with a single store in Melbourne’s South Yarra that sold seven brands. The company has since expanded to become one of the country’s most successful beauty retail outlets, with more than 200 stores in Australia and New Zealand selling more than 200 brands.

According to Ms Larkin’s pleadings, Mecca has consolidated revenue of about $940m and gross assets valued at $640m.

Originally published as Beauty giant Mecca facing case in Melbourne civil tribunal