Ex-IAG consultant says she’s getting harassed over unfair dismissal

Ex-IAG consultant says she’s getting harassed over unfair dismissal | Insurance Business Australia

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Ex-IAG consultant says she’s getting harassed over unfair dismissal

She was fired from her role after monitoring software logged instances of misconduct

Insurance News

By
Mika Pangilinan

A former Insurance Australia Group (IAG) consultant has taken to social media to express concerns about her future job prospects.

Suzie Cheikho, 38, was dismissed from her role at IAG in February 2023 after the company’s keystroke monitoring software detected low levels of activity while she was working remotely.

The story of her termination gained a lot of media attention at that time, with both local and international outlets publishing reports of her experience.

More than a year later, Cheikho said, in a now deleted TikTok video, that she continues to experience harassment on social media.

“This has never happened to me before,” she said in the clip, as cited by the Hindustan Times. “And for what? Something that’s very emotional and very private, I never even spoke about it on social media.

IAG’s monitoring software tracked low activity levels

According to previous reports, IAG tracked Cheikho’s work-issued laptop for 49 days from October to December 2022.

The company’s monitoring software indicated that Cheikho frequently started her workday late and finished early. She was also said to have missed scheduled hours on 44 occasions, including four days without any work activity.

Cheikho was terminated on February 20 due to missed deadlines and incomplete tasks. She later filed an unfair dismissal claim with the Fair Work Commission (FWC), stating that IAG had a “premeditated plan to remove her from the business and that she was targeted due to her mental health issues.”

FWC deputy president Thomas Roberts rejected Cheikho’s claim, citing evidence that she “was not working as she was required to do during her designated working hours.”

Roberts said IAG’s dismissal was for “a valid reason of misconduct,” but added that he had “little doubt that the factors underlying the applicant’s disconnection from work were serious and real.”

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