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Employees "cannot expect to avoid standard scrutiny" of their performance by claiming they are being bullied, the Fair Work Commission has stressed, in rejecting a stop-bullying bid.

Commissioner Stephen Crawford found in this case the employee was a "challenging" one, and that her manager took "a reasonable and appropriate approach" to addressing concerns with her performance.

The University of Notre Dame program manager had applied for stop-bullying orders against her acting line manager.

The first incident she complained of occurred in an online meeting in August last year, when the manager questioned her about an incomplete task, for which she hadn't been given a deadline.

She "respectfully recommended" that deadlines be clearly defined at the time of assigning a task, she said, but her manager responded that she expected someone at the employee's level to proactively communicate about tasks, timelines, and other commitments...