Former Cotton On employee Teresa Rocco seeking damages in County Court
A long serving Cotton On employee has taken the global clothing giant to court over alleged spinal and psychological injuries.
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A long serving Cotton On employee has taken the clothing giant to court over alleged spinal and psychological injuries.
Teresa Rocco, 68, is suing the Cotton On Group Service No 2 Pty Ltd in relation to her role as a picker and packer, specifically over tasks’ performed in warehouses based in Lara and Avalon.
In court documents, Ms Rocco claims “repetitive, heavy manual handling” and “picking items from shelving of varying heights” resulted in her suffering an injury to the spine and psychological damage.
She says she has suffered and will continue to suffer financial loss as a result.
The full particulars over the damages “for economic loss and for the loss of her earning capacity” are expected to be tabled before a judge only County Court trial this month.
She will allege Cotton On was negligent in its Occupational Health and Safety Regulations obligations, among other claims, between 2012 and 2021.
In just one of the allegations between 2017 and 2019, Ms Rocco will allege she “made regular verbal complaints at Health and Safety Representative meetings about the heavy and repetitive nature of packing duties.”
“In particular the heavy tubs and the manner in which they were stacked on each other on the conveyor belts and the packing stations,” she says according to the documents.
Ms Rocco is also seeking income tax paid on any weekly payments of compensation.
The matter was listed for mention in Geelong on Thursday before being adjourned until Monday.
Cotton On, founded in Geelong in 1988 by Nigel Austin, has become a global clothing giant.
The North Geelong-based group encompasses eight brands, including Factorie, Typo and Rubi, and employs more than 20,000 people across all its operations.
Originally published as Former Cotton On employee Teresa Rocco seeking damages in County Court
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