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The one-week gap between a senior manager's resignation and starting her new job has undermined her claims that she was either dismissed during her notice period, or forced to quit due to poorly handled bullying complaints.

Blackwood & Co Pty Ltd, which trades as Makesafe Traffic Management, objected to the senior operations manager's general protections claim involving dismissal, maintaining that it had not sacked her, rather she resigned voluntarily to take up a role at a competing business.

The Fair Work Commission heard the manager had made several complaints about a colleague in March this year.

After a formal investigation, the employer concluded the colleague had made inappropriate comments to the manager, "apparently not appreciating that what he regarded as humorous and inoffensive comments were unfavourably received"...