By Paul Sakkal and Erin Pearson
Prominent social activist Sally Rugg will keep her job as teal MP Monique Ryan’s chief of staff for at least two more weeks as she fights to have her dismissal overturned in court.
The former Change.org head is claiming the Fair Work Act was breached during her departure from the office in a dispute about what she claims were unreasonably long work hours.
Monique Ryan and Sally Rugg have entered mediation; Rugg’s lawyer Josh Bornstein said his client felt strongly about the hours parliamentary staffers were supposed to work. Credit: Joe Armao; James Brickwood
At a Federal Court hearing on Friday, the parties announced they would enter into mediation – a type of out-of-court negotiation aimed at reaching a settlement – until returning to the court on February 17.
Rugg will continue to be paid until 5pm on February 17. However, she has not performed work duties for weeks, so it is doubtful that she will operate as chief of staff when Ryan attends the first week of federal parliament in Canberra next week.
Rugg’s lawyer, well-known principal of Maurice Blackburn Josh Bornstein, said they were pleased with the outcome, adding that his client felt strongly about the unreasonable work hours expected of political staffers.
“She notes that the 2021 Human Rights Commission’s inquiry into Commonwealth workplaces and the subsequent Set The Standard report demonstrated that these issues are important to many staff across Commonwealth offices of the federal parliament,” Bornstein said in a written statement.
Ryan said the case had been adjourned to allow the parties to negotiate a sensible resolution.
“I agreed to this course because I hope the issue can be resolved without further delay, which will enable me to continue the important work that my constituents expect me to have as my focus, particularly with parliament about to resume,” she said.
At a hearing in Melbourne attended in person by Ryan and remotely by Rugg, lawyers pushed for documents detailing the particulars of the case to be kept secret until the parties reached agreement.
The case heard before Justice Debra Mortimer was slightly delayed after Rugg’s lawyers asked for more time to consider correspondence they received from Ryan’s legal team overnight.
Several sources, who all spoke on the condition of anonymity because legal proceedings were on foot, have confirmed Rugg resigned from her position over Christmas. But sources close to the matter who were not free to speak on the record claimed she was pressured into doing so. Associates believed the split was amicable and involved Rugg working until January 31.
The case has also swung the spotlight back to the demands placed on political staff, which has also been the subject of recent reviews into poor culture inside Canberra’s Parliament House.
Ryan in October told The Australian she was considering fundraising for extra staff as some staff were working more than 70 hours a week. “It’s not healthy. I think it’s only a matter of time before we have a poor outcome with one of our staff members,” she said at the time.
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