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An employee who was threatened by a colleague and asked to accept a transfer was not bullied, the Fair Work Commission has found, ruling these were understandable responses to the employee's own inappropriate behaviour.

The employee worked as a plumber and team leader for Chiswick Plumbing Group Pty Ltd and applied to the FWC in August 2022 for an order to stop bullying at work.

In his application he alleged:

• a new colleague was spreading rumours about his ability to perform plumbing work;
• the same colleague yelled, swore and aggressively shouted at him, saying "mind your own f-cking business", and "Just to let you know you are not f-cking welcome here and nobody wants you so don't come to the dinner tonight as nobody wants you there and I will be f-cking coming for you"; and
• senior management told him he was no longer fit to work at the business, and subsequently pressured him to transfer to an associated entity...