Monique Ryan and Sally Rugg reach settlement after legal fight

The legal stoush between Kooyong MP Monique Ryan and her former chief of staff Sally Rugg has come to an end with an in-principle settlement.

Teal MP Monique Ryan and her former chief of staff Sally Rugg have reached an in-principle settlement in the high-profile unfair dismissal case.

The Herald Sun understands the agreement occurred on April 28, however, is contingent on the Commonwealth also agreeing to the wording.

Ms Rugg, an activist, reportedly agreed to accept around $100,000 to end the matter.

The development comes after Ms Rugg filed new documents in the federal court last month, which revealed her pursuit against the commonwealth for alleged breaches of the Fair Work Act, and pointed the finger at Anthony Albanese’s decision to reduce staff allocations.

Monique Ryan and Sally Rugg were involved a high profile legal battle. Picture: Luis Ascui

However, sources say it had no impact on the settlement offer.

The legal battle has gripped all sides of politics, with Rugg’s lawyer early in the dispute declaring that the case would be a test for what constitutes “reasonable overtime or additional hours” for parliamentary staffers and could have implications for other white-collar employees.

Dr Ryan refused to comment.

The Attorney-General’s office was contacted for comment.

The April agreement came a week after Ms Rugg filed an amended statement of claim to the court, taking aim at Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for reducing independent MP staff allocations from four to one.

It also followed hours of court-ordered mediation, in which the Commonwealth refused to back down and accept Ms Rugg’s claim she was unfairly dismissed.

But Ms Rugg is yet to file a notice of discontinuation with the Federal Court, signalling any agreement she has made with Dr Ryan and the Commonwealth is not a done deal.

The activist, and her lawyers at Maurice Blackburn, could not be contacted for comment.