'Well, we all know why we're here,' says Joanna Hill, CEO of Ace International. 'It's Mark Lucas.' The other three managers seated at the table - Tina Wong, CFO, Katie Angelli, chief human resources officer and Sam Goldberg, legal counsel - all give sighs of resignation.

'I should have fired him on day one,' says Tina. 'The man is nothing but trouble. He is a total pain in the neck.' 'We all agree, Tina, but New York HO gave a guarantee that after our takeover of Oz Industries, there would be no headcount reductions for 6 months to allow our managers to accurately assess our people requirements. Like it or not, that was the deal,' Joanna replies.

'I know, I know,' answers Tina, the frustration clear in her voice.

'Anyway, the Mark Lucas matter has now come to a head,' says Joanna.

'What do you mean?' asks Tina.

'Just this,' says Sam, pushing two photocopies across the table.

'What's this?' asks Katie.

'A lawyer's letter, written on behalf of your good friend Mr Lucas, alleging bullying, harassment and discrimination, and requesting a formal written apology from the company and payment of a \(\$ 1000000\) settlement,' Sam offers with a slight smile.

'Sam, you have to be joking,' says Tina in disbelief.

'I'm afraid not. It appears that Mark Lucas has been secretly recording social conversations he has had with work colleagues and of all the meetings he has had with you to discuss his performance.'

'Is that legal?' asks Katie.

'In this state, it is not unlawful for someone to record a private conversation.'

'Unbelievable!' says Katie.

'It's telephone conversations that are not allowed to be recorded without the other person's permission. As employers today, we have to assume that all discussions with an employee are being recorded,' Sam explains.

'I think that it is absolutely terrible - how do you build trust and good work relations when you don't know if a colleague might be spying on you?' Katie responds.
'Which brings us to Mark Lucas,' Sam continues. 'He claims the work environment since the Ace takeover has become culturally insensitive, obsessed with performance and punishing to those seeking work-life balance.'
'Work-life balance!' says Tina. 'That man would not know what work was if he fell over it. He is forever taking smoking breaks, has the worst attendance record in my department and refuses to do anything that he regards as being outside his job description. Everyone in the department hates him. They all think he is a first-rate jerk.'
'That's just the point,' says Sam. 'He says that you have persecuted him because he is an AngloAustralian who has quality of life priorities.'.......

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1 If you were Katie Angelli, chief human resources officer, how would you handle this situation?

2 If you were Joanna Hill, CEO, what would you do?

3 What ethical, HR and legal issues are raised in this case?

4 What can an organisation do to try and prevent such situations from occurring?

5 Who are the major stakeholders in this case? How might they react to the situation?