A Federal Court challenge between high-profile political staffer Sally Rugg and teal MP Monique Ryan has shone a light on Australia's "troubling" parliamentary culture and prompted calls for employment legislation to be overhauled.
The employment dispute, brought by Ms Rugg, could serve as a test case for what constitutes "reasonable" working hours in what some say could have wider ramifications for workers across the country.
It comes after Ms Rugg launched legal action against Dr Ryan and the Commonwealth over alleged breaches of the Fair Work Act during her time as chief of staff.
Her lawyers allege Ms Rugg was expected to work an unreasonable amount of overtime on top of working up to 80 hours per week – claims Dr Ryan has denied.
After going on stress leave in December 2022, Ms Rugg tendered her resignation, but later claimed she had been "pushed" to do so after she refused to do community engagement work on top of her usual working hours.
Ms Rugg went to the Federal Court seeking an intervention to stop the termination of her $160,000-a-year job taking place at the end of January.
On Tuesday, Justice Debra Mortimer dismissed Ms Rugg's application to continue work for Dr Ryan, finding the pair had "no real working relationship left".
"I do not consider the situation is likely to be tolerable, let alone productive and workable, for either of them," Judge Mortimer said.
Court documents reveal scathing emails
Earlier the court heard their relationship was one that had "withered on the vine" and triggered "a form of trench warfare".
Court documents have revealed scathing emails, which Judge Mortimer said served as evidence of "a person who no longer wished to work with Dr Ryan".
In one email sent to her former boss on January 12, 2023, Ms Rugg writes:
"It's up to you if you choose to speak to media about my departure — I don't have any control over that. I suggest you don't say anything defamatory, or anything untrue that would force me to correct the record.
"From my end, there is nothing to discuss further."
In her affidavit, Dr Ryan said her former staffer "fundamentally misunderstands the importance of the community engagement component of the chief of staff role and is unwilling to perform it".
"I do not have the trust and confidence in Ms Rugg's ability to perform the work that I require her to perform," she wrote.
The decision ends a dispute over Ms Rugg's employment status, which has seen the parties come to the Federal Court four times in five weeks.
Ms Rugg's lawyer, Josh Bornstein, said his client would now focus on a broader legal challenge that could impact all Australians.
"The issues to be considered at trial could have far-reaching ramifications for all Australians who work in industries where long hours are expected and normalised," Mr Bornstein said.
In a trial not expected to go ahead until July, Ms Rugg will seek financial compensation from Dr Ryan and the Commonwealth, and for them to be fined for allegedly breaching the Fair Work Act.
Court documents show Ms Rugg also intends to allege "a systemic tolerance for unreasonable working hours by all parliamentary staff".
'Troubling' parliamentary culture 'affects us all': former political adviser
The legal stoush has shone a light on an unsustainable workplace culture in Parliament House that former staffers have said is in dire need of reform.
Sean Kelly worked as a former political advisor of former prime ministers Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd.
He said for many, it's an impossible workplace that demands "tremendously long hours" and fuels Canberra's hard-drinking culture.
"Really you never clocked off, you were expected to be on all the time," Mr Kelly said.
"It's not sustainable for anyone. There is very high rate of burnout so very few people do it for many years at a time.
"That means there isn't a lot of experience in Parliament House and that's an ongoing problem and has been a problem for a long time."
He said damaging parliamentary culture had made it difficult to attract and retain experienced staff, who provide advice to politicians.
"That troubling culture at Parliament House doesn't just affect the people working there, it affects all of us," he said.
The 2021 Jenkins Review, completed by Sex Discrimination Commissioner Kate Jenkins, recommended sweeping parliamentary workplace reforms after uncovering a raft of disturbing issues.
"Long hours, conflict, abuse, bullying, sexual assault — they are all part of the same mess," Mr Kelly said of the review's findings.
"It will be tremendously difficult to change [the culture] but … the reality is it has to change.
"It's causing harm to people and it's restricting the group of people who can work in politics."
Calls for enforceable cap on working hours in legislative overhaul
But it's not just those who walk the halls of Parliament House who are affected by relentless hours on the clock and unsustainable workplace cultures.
RMIT University's Sara Charlesworth, whose research examines employment and regulation, said construction workers, lawyers and accountants were among those clocking the most hours.
Professor Emeritus Charlesworth described Australia's working hours as a "huge issue", with many on average working more hours per week than those in comparable OECD nations at a cost to their mental and physical health.
She said the National Employment Standards, which sets out workers' minimum entitlements and is legislated in the Fair Work Act, features "very vague grey areas" that require urgent reforms.
"We have to get really serious about having an enforceable cap on working hour," she said.
"European countries have done this… and it makes it very difficult for employers or industries to breach that cap on a regular basis."
Professor Charlesworth said a push to make workplace practices more sustainable has seen some companies implement a right to disconnect in enterprise agreements, allowing employees to properly unplug.
ACTU Secretary Sally McManus said Australia has long had a problem with extensive working hours and welcomed clarity on reasonable hours.
"We're one of the hardest working, in terms of working hours, countries in the world," she said.
"Probably the best outcome for all of this is for it to be bargained over and for there to be clear parameters over what is reasonable and what's not reasonable."
Ms Rugg and Dr Ryan are expected to return to court for trial in July, which is unlikely to take less than 10 days.
