ASX faces court fight over job cuts amid CHESS replacement debacle

The ASX is set to slug it out with a former tech manager, who alleges his team was overburdened amid fixation on the failed CHESS replacement program.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - NewsWire Photos: MARCH 22 2023 - A view of the digital boards at the ASX in Sydney. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

The Australian Securities Exchange starved its digital teams of funding and staff at the same time it poured hundreds of millions into a failed transformation of its settlement and clearing functions, a former manager has claimed in court papers.

The ASX’s former program management delivery manager claims the continued staff shortages and management turmoil at the market operator saw him forced out after taking an extended period of stress leave.

In court papers filed in the Federal Court, the ASX employee claims the ASX wrongfully dismissed him from his role at the market operator after first assuring him his job was safe in a restructure, before later tipping him out.

However, the ASX denies the claims, claiming his job was only made redundant after a review of the market operator and was no longer required.

The ASX employee claims the issues at the ASX’s digital team stemmed from increased attrition within its ranks, while the market operator kept piling new work on its dwindling staff.

He claims his colleague Deepa Iyer resigned for similar reasons, leaving the ASX in February 2021 after telling him “that the stresses of delivery at the (ASX) and how she was being treated was the reason for her resignation and that (the ASX employee) was to take over her responsibilities”.

The ASX employee said when he raised his concern with management, that he was to be handed his former colleagues responsibilities in addition to his own he expressed concern but was told ASX management “did not have a solution for who was going to take over Ms Iyer’s responsibilities”.

The ASX denies this, noting in its defence it “did not yet have a solution for one aspect of Ms Iyer’s role, being CHESS e-statements PM”.

The ASX employee claims after returning from a period of personal leave in mid-2021 he was told there would be changes to his position and responsibilities, which saw key duties taken away from him.

“The Applicant was not provided with any consultation or an opportunity to discuss the

changes to his duties and responsibilities prior to them being implemented,” the ASX employee alleges.

But the ASX claims he did not raise any concerns at the time and the changes weren’t permanent, something the ASX employee disputes in his reply to the market operator’s filings.

The ASX employee claims he repeatedly sought to raise the lack of resourcing in the digital team with ASX management, telling the then-marketing general manager Liz Towler the shortages were “causing low morale”.

He said despite, this, the ASX transferred a team member away from the team just weeks later.

The ASX employee claims that on September 3 he sent a message to ASX Delivery general manager Leanne Jeffrey, calling for an “urgent resourcing intervention” as the team had lost several staff.

The ASX employee claims he was told in November 2021 he could hire additional staff on a contract basis to support the team, but management failed to follow through on this assurance.

However, the ASX claims the former employee said he would look into what contractor coverage was required but did not come back with suggestions.

The ASX kicked off a restructure of its digital arm in late 2021, in an attempt to reshape the division which controlled the market operators’ marketing and its website.

This comes after the ASX unveiled its new website in late 2020.

The ASX employee said there was considerable anxiety within the digital team about the restructure and delay in marketing and digital teams being informed about the new structure, but he was assured “there is a job for everyone”.

The ASX employee claims despite this assurance, after returning from a period of extended personal leave due to surgery and stress in February 2022, he was told by ASX HR business partner Sarah Redefrn and Digital and Customer general manager Mark Drasutis “there was no longer a need for (his) role”.

The ASX denies the empoyee was ever told there was no need for his job, claiming he was instead told there would be changes to the digital team which “would impact upon (his) role”.

The market operator claims it gave the ASX employee until July 2022 to respond to the suggested restructure, but received no response.

The ASX employee disputes this claim, noting the ASX failed to address his concerns or complaints regarding his well-being and was discriminated against after making complaints or inquiries.

He claims the redundancy “was not genuine” as the ASX still requires the duties of his role “to be performed by someone since there were large-scale digital projects and organisational wide digital transformation (which the Applicant was working on in his Position) that are currently underway as well as the Respondent’s recent annual report which states that staff numbers have increased by 6.1 per cent”.

Attempts to mediate the case between the two sides broke down in recent weeks, after lawyers for the ASX met with the ASX employee and his representatives in Sydney on March 6.

An ASX spokeswoman said the market operator disputes the legal grounds on which Mr Hardy is making his claim “but also numerous factual allegations being relied upon”.

“With the matter being still before the courts, it is not appropriate to comment further and ASX expects it will present supporting evidence to vigorously defend against the claims,” she said.

The case comes as the ASX grapples with almost total management turnover at the market operator after a series of technological missteps.

ASX chief executive Dominic Stevens announced he would quit the exchange in February last year amid concern a highly touted blockchain powered replacement of the CHESS clearing and settlement system was falling apart.

The ASX had attempted to replace its 26-year-old clearing and settlement system with a bespoke system announced under former CEO Elmer Funke Kupper in 2016.

But the ASX announced it would abandon the project in November last year, booking a $250m impairment from the failure.

The ASX poured funds into the digital transformation at the same time stockbrokers spent an estimated $100m putting in place their side of the CHESS replacement.