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The Fair Work Commission has refused to block disciplinary action against an absent employee pending the outcome of his bullying claim.

Given the employee wasn't allowed to return unless he attended an IME, there was no risk he'd continue to be bullied "at work", but in any case Commissioner Benjamin Redford said he'd be unlikely to interfere in the employer's management processes.

The Coles Supermarkets employee applied for stop-bullying orders late last year, following his suspension from work in mid-November.

His application complained about: racial targeting and exclusion; "disciplinary traps" involving mandatory pre-vehicle inspections; a requirement to undertake dangerous deliveries or lose his job; and being directed to breach food safety requirements...