Woolworths employee bullied to death?
By all accounts, Brenton Walsh loved his job at Woolworths. It was only following his suicide that shocked relatives began to hear about his problems at work.
On the last day of his life, Brenton Walsh shook himself awake at 4am. He showered, boiled some water and made some coffee. And then he was out the door, driving to Woolworths in the Victorian town of Moe, where he was manager of the supermarket's shelf-stacking team.
"A hard worker," is how Kerensa Walsh, his wife of two years, warmly describes him. "He really took pride in his job."
"Just recently, Rosie has started saying, 'Mummy, I'm sad because I miss Daddy. I want to see Daddy."
Kerensa Walsh
As this working day wore on, Mr Walsh's colleagues noticed something amiss. He looked tired, he seemed withdrawn. His eyelids were sagging, as though he had been crying.
![Kerensa Walsh, widow of young father Brenton Walsh.](/web/20160703063736im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/r/p/7/m/image.related.articleLeadwide.520x294.gpr0ls.png/1467287576081.jpg)
Mr Walsh was a private man. If there were any more clues, they had not been obvious. But on December 6, 2013, the extent of his suffering became brutally apparent; a search crew found him dead in a grassy reserve near his home.
To all appearances, 30-year-old Mr Walsh was a doting new dad who delighted in every unremarkable moment of parenting. His daughter Rosie was 18 months old and another baby was on the way. His young family's future was bright and full of promise.
"Everything was exciting. It felt like things were really falling into place," said Mrs Walsh, at her home in Newborough. "I was trying to think of all sorts of reasons why he did it ... I couldn't figure it out."
![Brenton Walsh with daughter Rosie.](/web/20160703063736im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/r/p/e/r/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gpr0ls.png/1467287576081.jpg)
As the Victorian Coroner undertakes an investigation, Fairfax Media has confirmed the existence of statements from Brenton's co-workers, who say he had been the victim of relentless workplace bullying.
In the months before his suicide, it was happening every day, at the hands of a man who would ultimately be jailed for bullying two other staff members at the same store.
The Coroner is also in possession of reports revealing police had identified bullying as a reason for Mr Walsh's decision to end his life.
![Kerensa Walsh wants an inquest into her husband's death.](/web/20160703063736im_/http://www.essentialbaby.com.au/content/dam/images/g/p/r/p/7/h/image.related.articleLeadNarrow.300x0.gpr0ls.png/1467287576081.jpg)
This month is the fifth anniversary of the passing of Brodie's Law in Victoria. Named after Brodie Panlock, who took her own life after unrelenting workplace bullying at the Hawthorn cafe where she worked, the law introduced a criminal bullying charge punishable by jail time.
Sources have confirmed that the Gippsland police officers who investigated Mr Walsh's suicide went on to arrest long-time Woolies employee Sean Clare for bullying three staff, including Mr Walsh.
The bullying followed a similar pattern of abuse. On a daily basis, Clare was openly hostile and aggressive towards them. He made highly offensive and derogatory remarks to their faces or while they were in earshot. He swore at them, threatened them, undermined their authority and refused to perform even the most basic tasks.
It is understood that prosecutors later advised that the case against Clare for bullying Mr Walsh was not strong enough to proceed because the victim was not alive to testify. Clare was charged under Brodie's Law in December with bullying the two other colleagues and was sentenced to six months' jail.
In sentencing, the magistrate said the bullying made his victims' lives a "living hell", and delivered a strong rebuke to Woolworths' handling of the situation and failure to be more proactive in addressing the problems that made Woolworths Moe a psychologically unsafe workplace.
Fairfax Media understands Clare's employment file contains multiple separate bullying complaints against him, but he had not been suspended. Clare had undergone three "formal counselling" sessions. None of those complaints was made by Mr Walsh.
Kerensa Walsh has lodged a request with the Coroner's Court for an inquest into her late husband's death, amid concerns he was "subjected to sustained workplace bullying without any meaningful intervention by Woolworths".
Gino Andrieri, principal at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, acting for the family, said the connection between workplace bullying and suicide was a matter of public importance.
"It is the role of the coroner to investigate matters that are in the public interest and would promote public health and safety. The dangers of workplace bullying are well known and the significant trauma caused, particularly in regional communities, is far-reaching," he said.
"Despite greater public awareness and consequent legislative reform, further coronial recommendations addressing the importance of preventing serious workplace bullying would of course be welcome."
There have been 58 offenders charged under Brodie's Law in Victoria since 2011. Earlier this month, police chief Graham Ashton was scathing of Woolworths management, saying he was angered by its decision to keep on Clare as an employee even while he was in prison for bullying.
"I read with exasperation that late last year a large corporation had allowed a store worker to keep his job whilst serving six months in prison for the serious bullying of a manager," he said.
"What message did that send to the manager, her colleagues or the wider community? Serious physical and psychological bullying is causing real and ongoing harm. It must be stopped."
Woolworths said in a statement that Clare was no longer an employee.
A spokesman said Woolworths was deeply saddened by the death of Mr Walsh. The company would not comment on the findings of its internal investigation into the bullying, but said it took the health and safety of its workplaces and employees very seriously.
"As part of Woolworths' standard practice of continuous review of safety matters, it has reviewed existing procedures and revised them where necessary, and continues to give the highest priority to the health, safety and wellbeing of its people," the spokesman said.
WorkSafe Victoria said it had investigated Woolworths, as the employer, over alleged bullying at Moe. But the agency determined that the company had appropriate policies and took reasonable actions to address inappropriate behaviour, and there was insufficient evidence to prosecute. The decision is now under review by the Director of Public Prosecutions after the family sought an appeal.
"Brenton was battling something that none of us knew ... and I don't want this happening to anyone else," said Mrs Walsh, who believes Woolworths hasn't been held to account.
"Just recently, Rosie has started saying, 'Mummy, I'm sad because I miss Daddy. I want to see Daddy.'
"That's really challenging. She is just coming to the age where she is being more inquisitive and wants to know. I hate that my children don't have a dad."
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