Former ABC presenter Antoinette Lattouf has escalated her unlawful termination case to the Federal Court, suing the public broadcaster for allegedly breaching its own employee Enterprise Agreement (EA).
In the new submission lodged last week, Ms Lattouf claims the ABC “sack[ed] her without a proper basis and without due process” when she was three days into a five-day contract to present on ABC Radio Sydney in December.
These claims add to Ms Lattouf’s earlier case at the Fair Work Commission, where the Lebanese Australian journalist is suing the ABC for allegedly dismissing her based on her political opinion and race.
Ms Lattouf has said the ABC told her she breached the organisation’s social media policy for sharing a social media post from Human Rights Watch accusing Israel of starving civilians in Gaza “as a weapon of war”.
Now, the Federal Court case further claims the ABC violated its EA by terminating her without notifying her in writing about the nature of the alleged misconduct, and failing to give her the opportunity to respond or explain her actions.
It also claims the ABC breached the agreement because Ms Lattouf was terminated for misconduct “when, in fact, [she] had not engaged in misconduct and had complied with guidance provided to her by her management”.
Media reports previously revealed a group of pro-Israel lawyers sought to have Ms Lattouf sacked, and threatened legal action in written demands to the ABC’s managing director, David Anderson, and former chair, Ita Buttrose.
Mr Anderson has repeatedly denied her removal was the result of the lobbying.
Ms Lattouf had asked the Fair Work Commission to force the ABC to produce emails sent to the two executives calling for her dismissal, but it rejected the application.
Her principal lawyer, Josh Bornstein, said in a statement on Monday that the “ABC flagrantly ignored its legal obligations when it panicked and summarily dismissed” her.
“Antoinette Lattouf is the first Australian journalist to be sacked for communicating a fact; the very same fact that the ABC was reporting on,” he said.
“The ABC’s conduct was a textbook example of what can go wrong when an organisation applies brand management techniques instead of being guided by principle, proper process and legal obligations.”
Ms Lattouf is seeking “reinstatement, compensation, pecuniary penalties against the ABC and orders that ABC management undergo training to ensure they comply with their EA obligations”.
ABC’s management has been contacted for comment.
Mr Anderson has previously said Ms Lattouf was taken off air for not following a management direction about her use of social media.
Earlier this month, he told a parliamentary committee he could not comment on the matter because the Fair Work Commission would next hear the case on March 8.
“I’ve also received specific legal advice that anything I say with regard to that matter might prejudice the proceedings that otherwise happen at Fair Work, which are considered to be legal proceedings.”