An employee was found to have improperly used their status and authority by engaging in a sexual relationship with a junior colleague.
The decision-maker expressed their personal views about the appropriateness of workplace relationships and disregarded, without sufficient reason, the employee’s evidence regarding the private and reciprocal nature of the relationship. In the view of the decision-maker, there were no circumstances where the relationship could be appropriate or managed.
We determined a reasonable person would conclude there was nothing the applicant could say that would change the decision-maker's mind – they did not approach the matter with an open mind. In our view, this amounted to an apprehended bias and recommended the decision be set aside.
