Country Road calls in investigators amid harassment, bullying complaints

Fashion retailer Country Road has launched an independent investigation after staff complained that the organisation did not adequately handle their sexual harassment and bullying complaints.

Country Road Group said it took complaints of harassment, including sexual harassment, very seriously following reports that some employees felt unsafe at work and had failed to receive adequate support from the company.

Fashion retailer Country Road has launched an independent investigation after staff complained it did not adequately handle their complaints.Credit: Glenn Hunt

“Having received feedback from some team members regarding the handling of their complaints, our parent company Woolworths Holding Limited has taken prompt action, including the commissioning of an independent investigation to look into this matter,” a spokeswoman said.

“This independent review is currently in its final stages. The outcomes are expected to be shared with Country Road Groupteam members in June. It is critically important to us that our workplace is one where all team members feel safe, valued and included.”

Woolworths Holdings chief executive Roy Bagattini flew to Country Road’s head office in Melbourne in March to hear complaints from staff members about unwanted touching of female staff, bullying and racism, according to The Australian. Staff reportedly felt angry about the company’s failure to listen to complaints.

In an email to staff, Bagattini acknowledges some employees were dissatisfied with the way their sexual harassment complaints had been handled.

“Specifically, team members felt their feedback had not been heard and the process to address the complaints [was] far too long,” he wrote according to an excerpt of the email published by The Australian.

“It is imperative that these issues are explored further to ensure that the culture we are all so proud of is not undermined.

“I have authorised the commissioning of an independent review by an external consultancy to investigate the handling of team member complaints.”

The Country Road Group owns the Country Road, Mimco, Trenery, Politix and Witchery brands. Woolworths Holdings sold the upmarket department store David Jones last year to free up the ground to invest in growing its fashion brands in Australia and South Africa.

Before that sale, David Jones and Politix signed enforceable undertakings with the Fair Work Ombudsman to backpay more than 7000 employees within two months after reporting the underpayments in 2020.

The retailers agreed to pay more than $750,000 in interest and contrition payments after admitting to underpaying thousands of employees $4 million. Workers were underpaid minimum wages, evening, weekend, overtime and public holiday penalty rates.

Nine Entertainment, owner of this masthead, on Monday also announced an independent review of its newsroom culture as staff anger escalated over the company’s handling of a sexual harassment complaint against former television news boss Darren Wick, as well as the anonymous complaints of other women made through the media.

Nine chief executive Mike Sneesby addressed staff on Monday afternoon and sent an all-staff email which acknowledged the serious allegations against Wick. He said the review would be handled by an external firm.

Sneesby also said the “alleged serious failings of leadership in television news clearly tells me more work needs to be done to ensure we have a safe and inclusive workplace throughout Nine”.

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