Marcellin College accused of bullying and discrimination by former employee

The leading Catholic school has been accused of multiple counts of bullying and discrimination by its former HR manager.

Marcellin College dismissed senior manager Lydia Yew in July 2022, citing 22 grounds of misconduct.

A leading Catholic private school has been accused in VCAT of multiple counts of bullying and discrimination by its former human resources manager.

Marcellin College dismissed senior manager Lydia Yew in July 2022, citing 22 grounds of misconduct, including failure to comply with orders and submit to external medical examinations.

Ms Yew started at the school in December 2019 but has been on sick leave supported by workers’ compensation since mid 2021 when the misconduct claims came to a head.

Ms Yew has accused key school leaders, including principal Marco Di Cesare, of nine instances of bullying during 2020 and 2021 – claims that were rejected in the Fair Work Commission.

On Friday in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, Ms Yew brought an injunction asking the school to re-employ her.

Ms Yew said her dismissal had caused financial hardship and impacted on her health and family. “I have been treated unlawfully, unfavourably and unfairly,” she said.

“I seek an immediate and urgent injunction to secure my employment and secure my financial liability,” she told the hearing.

The school wanted her to undergo an independent medical examination but she refused to do so twice while she was on sick leave.

She said the school discriminated against her on the grounds of her mental health.

In 2021 Ms Yew took action in the Fair Work Commission to stop the school’s staff from bulling her after she was asked to resign or face misconduct proceedings.

She said the bullying included being excluded from staff wellbeing meetings, overlooking a request for training and not including her video in a staff wellbeing presentation. She also accused a staff member of treating her in an “extremely hostile manner”.

As part of this action the school applied for access to Ms Yew’s private medical records which detailed her suicidal thoughts and trauma arising from the incident with the staff member.

The documents included reports from a Crisis Assessment and Treatment team (CAT) which is usually dispatched when a person is suicidal.

The school wanted her to undergo an independent medical examination but she refused to do so twice while she was on sick leave.

The order to produce the documents was denied by the commission as it was found to have a “harmful impact” on her health and wellbeing.

It was ruled that the documents were “deeply personal” and “may discourage her from seeking emergency medical care because of a concern that any material could be required to be disclosed to her employer”. The Commissioner encouraged “the parties to engage in discussions to resolve any outstanding matters in an informal way”.

In November 2021 the commission ruled that Ms Yew had not been bullied while working at Marcellin and instead was subjected to normal management actions carried out reasonably.

On Friday the VCAT hearing for the injunction was adjourned and the school’s application to have the matter dismissed will be determined at a future date.

Lawyer for Marcellin College, Paul O’Halloran, a partner at Colin Biggers and Paisley, said schools “have the right to defend claims that lack substance and merit where multiple claims in multiple jurisdictions are filed by former employees”.