Virgin dismisses chief executive bullying allegation in Federal Circuit.

Virgin Australia makes tough defense to CEO over bullying allegations filed by former chief pilot Michael Fitzgerald, $1 million demand denied by airline to walk away ‘quietly’ He claimed he chose to take legal action after being accused. .

fitzgerald filed his lawsuit against Virgin claimed in April that he was unfairly dismissed after taking an extended sick leave for mental health reasons.

He worked for Virgin for 18 years before being laid off in March of this year.

In its defense, Virgin denied any wrongdoing by CEO Jayne Hrdlicka, claiming that Fitzgerald proposed firing him after he took an extended medical leave from July to October 2021.

Chief operating officer Stuart Aggs told Fitzgerald that layoffs were not possible, but he was free to leave the business on current salary terms, according to defense attorneys. Two weeks later, Fitzgerald was told that if he chose to resign, he was entitled to 12 weeks’ salary of $86,148.

Fitzgerald’s barrister, Chris Watters, later responded with a letter demanding $925,000 in addition to other perks, including access to Virgin lounges with Gold status. , Watters requested a severance payment of $769,700.

According to Virgin’s defense, on December 17, he refused the dismissal request. The defense added that the application was the first time Fitzgerald had “filed allegations of workplace bullying.”

At Virgin’s request, Fitzgerald attended two independent medical evaluations pending a Fair Labor Commission meeting on his application on March 1.

On the morning of March 1, Aggs dismissed Fitzgerald from his position based on two medical reports stating that Fitzgerald was “permanently unfit for work.”