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A talent acquisition partner complained an HR team was bullying him to "deflect criticism of his clear underperformance", the Federal Circuit Court has found.

Accepting the employer's performance concerns were justified, Judge Doug Humphreys rejected that the TA partner's workplace complaint was a substantial or operative reason for his dismissal.

The TA partner joined Bluescope Steel in early June 2024 and was sacked in November, two days before his probation period ended.

In general protections proceedings, the Court heard that during a meeting in September, the TA partner and his manager – the talent partner lead – discussed "tension" between the recruitment and HR teams, HR's complaints about his attention to detail, and his concerns about his "significant workload"...