Sally Rugg accepts $100k to settle workplace dispute with Monique Ryan

Activist Sally Rugg has quietly settled with her former boss, teal MP Monique Ryan, after claiming ‘serious contraventions’ of the Fair Work Act.

Monique Ryan and Sally Rugg in happier times.

Sally Rugg’s case against Monique Ryan, touted by the activist’s lawyer as having implications for every Australian worker who has been asked to work unreasonable additional hours, has quietly settled out of court.

Ms Rugg reached an in-principle agreement with her teal MP former boss and the commonwealth on April 28, accepting an offer of about $100,000 to abandon her claim.

Neither Dr Ryan nor the government were required to admit fault, and all parties have agreed to pay their own legal costs, which in the case of Dr Ryan and the government means they will be covered by the taxpayer.

A final deed is still being drafted between the parties. When signed, it will spare both women the public spectacle of giving evidence against each other in the Federal Court, where the case was otherwise set to proceed to trial before Chief Justice Debra Mortimer in coming months.

Ms Rugg failed in March in her bid to be reinstated as Dr Ryan’s chief of staff, after the court heard evidence from Dr Ryan that their relationship was “irreparable”, and that she did not have “trust and confidence” in the activist and former Change.org executive director’s ability to perform the required work.

The remainder of her case against Dr Ryan and the commonwealth related to “serious contraventions” of the Fair Work Act in the form of allegedly being required to work unreasonable hours.

In documents filed as part of the case last month, Ms Rugg claimed that she regularly worked 65 hours a week during her six months employed by Dr Ryan, for which she was paid a salary and allowances totalling more than $160,000.

When he launched Ms Rugg’s case in March, her high profile lawyer Josh Bornstein pointed out that a “serious contravention” of the Fair Work Act attracted a maximum penalty of $660,000 — indicating he believed the case could have implications not only in parliament, but for workplaces across Australia.

“Ms Rugg’s case will be a test case for what constitutes “reasonable” overtime or additional hours for parliamentary staffers and may impact other white -collar employees in the labour market,” Mr Bornstein said at the time.

“If Ms Rugg’s case succeeds, it will open the door for further litigation including class actions, not just for employees of the Commonwealth but for every Australian worker experiencing exploitation because of a contractual obligation to perform undefined “reasonable additional hours”.

Ms Rugg and Dr Ryan were both contacted for comment.

Documents filed by both parties depicted a bitter and personal falling-out between Dr Ryan, a former paediatric neurologist who defeated Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to win the affluent inner Melbourne seat of Kooyong, and Ms Rugg, a former Change.org executive director and same sex marriage campaigner.

In affidavits submitted by both women, the public learnt Dr Ryan had been horrified when Ms Rugg took a commercial flight home from Canberra while Covid positive.

It also emerged that some of the teal MP’s key concerns included Ms Rugg’s failure to update her website, create focus groups and adequately engage with voters.