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An employer has unsuccessfully sought to remove two senior HR leaders from an employee's general protections claim, which it is defending by arguing their actions were "consistent with ordinary HR inefficiency", rather than unlawful.

Federal Circuit Court Judge Mark Champion also refused to strike out any of the employee's allegations from her statement of claim, rejecting the employer's arguments that her pleadings lacked necessary precision.

The Camp Australia employee is claiming her dismissal and other actions breached the Fair Work Act's general protections provisions, and that under section 550 three individuals – the employer's chief technology officer (CTO), head of people (HoP), and chief people officer (CPO) – were knowingly "involved in" the employer's contraventions.

The employer filed an interlocutory application, arguing certain paragraphs of the employee's statement of claim (SOC) should be struck out, and that as a consequence of such orders, that the individuals should be removed from the proceedings as respondents...