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Being sacked for serious misconduct after regularly complaining of workplace bullying and harassment would have made a manager feel like "a grave injustice had been perpetrated", the Federal Circuit Court has accepted in adverse action proceedings.

The manager had a pre-existing psychological injury, but the employer's Fair Work Act contravention aggravated it, Judge Salvatore Vasta found in calculating the loss she'd suffered and appropriate compensation and penalty.

The former regional operations manager for St Vincent de Paul Society Queensland said she started experiencing bullying and toxic workplace behaviour almost immediately after joining the employer in mid-2019.

While she had been reporting unacceptable conduct by both superiors and subordinates, she said the main issues were with her supervisor.

Things came to a head in June 2021, when the manager complained to the employer's then general manager of people and safety that she had repeatedly asked the supervisor for more support with administration, recruitment and staff management, but none had been forthcoming...