Maths teacher Anthony Carlo Guandalini accused of calling students ‘sluts’, fails in compensation bid

A Queensland maths teacher accused of calling students “bitches” and “sluts” has launched a bid for compensation for a psychological injury after claiming the high school’s culture was toxic.

Anthony Carlo Guandalini has failed in his bid for compensation for a psychological injury after claiming the school culture was toxic.

A maths teacher at a Queensland high school accused of calling students “bitches” and “sluts” has failed in his bid for compensation for a psychological injury after claiming the school culture was toxic.

Anthony Carlo Guandalini took his fight against the Workers’ Compensation Regulator to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission in a bid to receive a compensation payout from the state government for trauma caused by his job a teacher at Urangan State High School.

In his decision handed down on July 14, QIRC vice president Daniel O’Connor threw out Mr Guandalini’s case.

Mr O’Connor confirmed the Workers’ Compensation Regulator’s 2022 decision agreeing with WorkCover’s rejection of compensation.

Consultant psychiatrist Sanjay Nandam told the tribunal that Mr Guandalini came to see him and complained that a formal complaint was made against him at work in 2021, allegedly by friends of a mathematics teachers’ aid Michael Kerby.

“The complaints alleged he had called students ‘bitches’ and ‘sluts’, which Tony stated he had never done and that he did not use those words,” Dr Nandam’s notes, quoted in the decision states.

Complainants alleged Tony Guandalini called students ‘bitches’ and ‘sluts’.

A year later, Dr Nandam noted Mr Guandalini reported to him that he had been the subject of three separate formal complaints at work, which she had been told were made “by friends of Michael Kerby”.

“The complaints were over Tony’s behaviour, including making sexual comments about students, during the past to [sic] years and alleged that these had been brought to his line manager without action. Before the complaints, Tony had never heard about these issues,” Dr Nandam’s notes state.

Mr Guandalini denied the accusations in his response to the school, and questioned how the allegations coincided with teacher Mr Kerby being banned from the maths staffroom.

The ban came after there was an “incident” between Mr Guandalini and Mr Kerby when they met in the maths staffroom on 17 February 2021, with Mr Guandalini claiming Mr Kerby was not allowed to be there, the tribunal heard.

The investigating deputy principal, Nick McMorrow, replied that they saw no evidence of collusion or relationship to the Michael Kerby “issue”.

Mr Guandalini told Dr Nandam that he “felt that there was a lack of natural justice with no proper investigation in substantiating the serious allegations and ignoring the timing and context of the complaints”.

The school told Mr Guandalini that he had breached the school Code of Conduct five times. At the end of March 2021, due to worsening anxiety and low mood, Mr Guandalini stopped work, telling his doctor he had lost confidence in the capacity of the school to provide a safe workplace.

Mr Guandalini claimed stress at work was triggered by Mr Kerby, who was involved in an ongoing conflict with fellow USHS mathematics teacher, Ms Monique Psaila, who was Mr Guandalini’s partner from mid-2019.

Mr Guandalini denied the accusations he made sexaul comments about students.

Ms Psaila accused Mr Kerby of bullying her, which he has denied.

An internal investigation ruled Mr Kerby did not bully Ms Psaila, he had acted inappropriately.

Mr Kerby received a formal caution which remains on his employment record.

Ms Psaila was unhappy that the bullying complaint was not upheld, the decision states.

Ms Psaila wanted Mr Kerby removed from her maths division, but that was not the outcome of the departmental investigation.

Mr Kerby was ultimately moved out of her staffroom after Ms Psaila and Mr Guandalini demanded it as a condition of their return to work after a period of leave, the decision states.

Mr Guandalini wanted the school to investigate his claims that the maths staffroom was “toxic”

Mr Guandalini was told his complaints about toxicity in the maths staffroom would form no part of the investigation and he was not to raise them, and when he returned to work at the school in 2021 Mr Guandalini was told to move temporarily to using the Science staffroom and not the maths staffroom, to allow his bruised workplace relationships with colleagues to heal.

Mr O’Connor ruled that the management action taken by the employer was reasonable and taken in a reasonable way.

“Having considered the totality of the evidence, I fail to be persuaded that the psychiatric or psychological disorder has arisen out of, or in the course of, employment, and that the employment is the significant contributing factor to the injury,” Mr O’Connor ruled.

“Throughout this entire period, the Appellant had a series of personal issues which has had a negative impact on his mental health. The Appellant was involved in acrimonious divorce proceedings involving the custody of his children and issues involving his partner’s employment at the school. Those issues were present at the time of the Appellant’s alleged workplace injury and were continuing features well into 2023,” Mr O’Connor wrote.

Originally published as Maths teacher Anthony Carlo Guandalini accused of calling students ‘sluts’, fails in compensation bid