Worker taking council to court

A FORMER Gold Coast City Council worker was left on call 24-7 for about seven months, leading to severe mental health issues, according to court documents.

Anthony Henry, a former senior traffic systems technician, is suing the council for more than $781,000 in an action filed in the Supreme Court of Queensland for alleged injury sustained between February 2014 and July 2016.

Documents say the adjustment disorder includes mixed anxiety and depressed moods, and that as recently as last month Mr Henry, who now lives in the Tweed area, was still not working full time.

According to the documents, Mr Henry, 47, worked on a fortnightly 24-7 call-out roster in conjunction with a coworker, Tony Stevens.

When Mr Stevens resigned in March 2015, Mr Henry became the only senior traffic systems technician on call.

He was left as the only person on call until October 2015.

“(Mr Henry) continued to work unsupported in his role until October 2015, when he transitioned to part-time employment without a 24/7 oncall requirement on medical advice from his general practitioner and counsellor,” the documents read.

Before Mr Stevens left, Mr Henry told his manager he was concerned about work-life balance and was allegedly told that was part of the job.

According to a position description posted online in October 2015 by the Gold Coast City Council, a senior traffic systems technician is responsible for “the operational management of council’s traffic signal and Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) to assist in the delivery of a quality, safe and efficient traffic and transport network”.

The claim alleges the council did not give Mr Henry a safe workplace by not providing a “reasonable on-call load’’. This had resulted in constant interruptions to sleep and difficulties going back to sleep, it says.

He was also required to work despite the council allegedly being aware of Mr Henry’s deteriorating mental health.

Mr Henry claims the constant time on call left him with an adjustment disorder including mixed anxiety and depressed moods.

“Had (the council) provided a safe system of work by ensuring (Mr Henry) was not required to work excessive hours with excessive responsibilities over a long period of time, then (Mr Henry) would not have suffered the injuries,” the documents read.

Mr Henry also accuses the council of “failing to respond appropriately or at all to (Mr Henry’s) complaints regarding the unreasonable workload and/or unreasonable on-call load”.

Repeated calls for help had also been ignored by council.

Mr Henry claims he has lost the “enjoyment and amenities of life” due to his illness, which he says has left him disadvantaged in the labour market.

A council spokesman would only say: “City cannot make comment whilst the matter is before the court.”

The council is yet to file a defence.