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An employer has defended an HR officer's allegations that its "toxic culture" and investigation failures amounted to a constructive dismissal, with a commission rejecting her claim for reinstatement.

The Mount Isa City Council HR officer resigned in February 2020, but she told the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission that she had done so because the new people and culture manager had created a "hostile work environment", and because she was denied procedural fairness during a workplace investigation.

According to the HR officer, the P&C manager began bullying "multiple" staff – including her – after joining the team in August 2019, and the employer "did nothing about it".

Witnesses claimed the P&C manager: was rude and abrasive towards colleagues; put the HR officer down; used "the F word" towards the HR officer and more generally; and would point her finger and get into the HR officer's personal space...