Virgin Australia and its high-flying chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka have been accused of bullying a senior pilot at the airline group in a Fair Work court case.
Captain Michael Fitzgerald launched Federal Court action on Tuesday against the airline.
A Virgin Australia spokeswoman confirmed it was being sued by the company’s former general manager of flight operations after an extended period of personal leave. The company also confirmed that allegations had been made directly against Hrdlicka. Fitzgerald’s lawyer did not respond to inquiries.
Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka.Credit: Bloomberg
“Virgin Australia notes the filing of general protections proceedings in the Federal Circuit Court by former employee Michael Fitzgerald on 12 April 2022,” a spokeswoman for the company said.
“Mr Fitzgerald was previously general manager flight operations and chief pilot. This is a critical senior regulatory role in Virgin Australia’s business and requires continuity and certainty of leadership.”
The spokeswoman said that prior to his employment ceasing, Virgin Australia had supported Mr Fitzgerald for a period of paid absence from the business of more than seven months.
“During that time, Virgin Australia discussed options for him to return to work. Mr Fitzgerald’s employment was only terminated following multiple independent assessments of his fitness to work.”
The spokeswoman said Fitzgerald had made specific allegations against the company’s chief.
“The allegations against Virgin Australia’s CEO were raised on December 24, 2021, investigated by an external party in January 2022, and were not substantiated,” the spokeswoman said.
Fitzgerald was a direct report of Virgin Australia’s chief operations officer, Stuart Aggs, who worked with Fitzgerald for 18 years.
“In addition, Mr Fitzgerald only met with the CEO on a one-on-one basis twice, as part of a professional development initiative to support the improvement of his performance,” the company said.
The company said it denied all allegations made by the former captain and believed he had been treated fairly.
“Virgin Australia unequivocally denies all allegations made by Mr Fitzgerald and will be vigorously defending the matter,” the spokeswoman said.
“At Virgin Australia, our people are at the centre of everything we do. We work hard to accommodate employees to manage physical and mental health challenges.”
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