Teal MP Monique Ryan to enter mediation with chief of staff Sally Rugg

Teal MP Monique Ryan’s chief of staff will keep her job as the pair tries to settle a dispute over claims she was unfairly dismissal.

Teal MP Monique Ryan will meet with her chief of staff who has accused her of unfair dismissal in a behind closed doors court mediation to try and settle the dispute.

A date will be set down for mediation at Melbourne’s Federal Court in the next fortnight where Dr Ryan and her office staffer Sally Rugg, along with their legal counsel and representatives from the government, will attempt to come to an agreement.

It comes after Ms Rugg launched legal action against Dr Ryan and the Commonwealth of Australia for breaches of the Fair Work Act, claiming she was sacked after six months in the Kooyong member’s office for refusing to work “unreasonable” work hours.

Monique Ryan will attempt to come to an agreement with her chief of staff, Sally Rugg, in mediation. Picture: AAP

An urgent interlocutory hearing was listed before Justice Debra Mortimer on Friday, where Ms Rugg was seeking orders to prohibit her from being fired.

But following last-minute negotiations between the parties, Nick Harrington, for the Commonwealth, said they had agreed for Ms Rugg to maintain her employment until 5pm on February 17, the day the case returns to court, to allow for further time to try and resolve the matter.

Until that date, Mr Harrington said Ms Rugg would be paid “miscellaneous leave”.

The court heard the mediation, which would be overseen by senior national judicial registrar Alison Legge, would have to fit around Dr Ryan’s schedule, with parliament sitting from next week.

But it would be allocated a day before the case returns to Justice Mortimer at 10.15am on February 17.

Sally Rugg launched legal action against Monique Ryan. Picture: David Caird

The move to settle outside of court was welcomed by Justice Mortimer, who thanked Mr Harrington, along with Ms Rugg’s barrister, Angel Aleksov, and Matthew Minucci, for Dr Ryan, for their “sensible approach”.

“I wish you well in your negotiations over the next two weeks,” she said.

Ms Rugg, who was not in court but appeared remotely from her solicitor’s office, alleges in her originating application, lodged with the court on January 25, she was told in a “hostile” manner her employment would end on January 31.

She said she had “exercised a workplace right” under the FairWork Act “to refuse to work additional hours that were unreasonable”.

Ms Rugg claimed some employees were often working more than 70 hours per week.

She was hired by Dr Ryan in July last year after the new MP controversially unseated then Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in Kooyong at the May federal election.