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An employer held an "unshakable" belief that an employee had engaged in misconduct, but it wasn't supported by evidence, the Fair Work Commission has found in unfair dismissal proceedings.

Rather than demonstrating a "dispassionate, objective assessment" of the employee's conduct, the employer's evidence in proceedings was "an attempt at a comprehensive character assassination, borne from a sense of acrimony", Fair Work Commissioner Benjamin Redford commented.

Telehealth psychology practice Very Helpful Chats sacked the senior psychologist in May this year for serious misconduct, and she filed an unfair dismissal claim.

The Commission heard that a director had asked the employee to supervise a junior colleague in November last year. They both shared critical opinions of the junior's report writing in private conversations; the employee, for example, described it as "shit" and said it was "hurting her brain"...