Please support my Mother fight St George Bank

[sval62]

My Mother is 63 years old. She has worked at St George's Bank in Sydney for nearly 7 years. She has been bullied so badly by her line manager that she took time of for stress leave. The bank has begun a smear campaign against her for daring to complain about her treatment. They have not fired her, but they have refused to pay her for the past 6 months! They have doctored evidenced and have even made allegations she is mentally ill to avoid any liability for their behaviour. She is living off her savings and is in a real desperate state of worry and distress. St George's are waiting for her to back down and return as a broken employee. She refuses but will soon be broke and destitute. Please show your support by spreading this Group message. Help me help my dear Mother get justice from a multi-national bank. They have treated her like she is nothing. Politicians and Courts seem powerless to stand up to banks, but people power can. Please support this Group and send a message to St George's Bank.

I have only one thing to say

 

[lindsayf]

Probably a nice little earner if you scam enough forums and get a small percentage from each forum sending off a few sheckels.

where would I send the sheckels to though?

 

[benjamindennehy]

oh....oh well

for some reason the other replies did not show when I replied....?

just what is the point of bank bashing? How does it achieve anyone's end? I didnt get the 'please enter bank a/c number here' BS? ...Just so that at least I can educate myself here having been suckered in.....lol

I'm not asking for money. I'm raising awareness. That is all.

 

[benjamindennehy]

Has facebook page must be serious?

and on closer inspection of said facebook page....

1. Photos of dope plants - that will give you credit.
2. You are dressed as a pirate
3. You live in UK?
4. Insulting other religions

Wow you really seem like a stand up guy...

If you are serious which I highly doubt it you might want to clean up your facebook page.

I take your point but let's clarify shall we;

1. That photo was in every UK newspaper - a elderly couple bought it from a car boot sale and were raided by Police.
2. It's not a Pirate, it's Captain Cook, you may have heard of him.
3. Yes.
4. The Burka is not part of Islam, it's used by extremists. (Note did you not see the signs they were all holding "Death to those who insult...etc" This was outside the High Court at a Terrorists trial!!)

 

[benjamindennehy]

Unfortunatelly so are most older people, who are relying on their savings.
Has your mother talked to her union? they have a lot of representitives in the cabinet.
Maybe she could get a union lawyer to represent her?

She has. They offer support up to the point they hand to lawyers, which is where she is now. The bank is deliberately dragging its feet, knowing there is only so long she can hold out. She has applied for workers comp during this period, but guess what, the insurer for this is Westpac, St George's parent. They are refusing at this stage to pay out. I'm not asking for money I am raising awareness of how a corporate treats grandmothers.

 

[brty]

benjamin,

Why on earth did you join a stock investment forum to drum up support? Why don't you drum up support from forums where you are a member? What do you expect people to do, especially as we don't know if you are faking or not, as we don't know you!?

With a very broad assumption that there is something real here, the following should apply..

1. If there is bullying in the workplace, then there is remedial action available through the companies hierarchy. If the bullying is causing stress then go and see her doctor. (note, not the companies doctor)
2. If the doctor agrees/finds clinical levels of stress related to the bullying, they will issue a certificate for time off work. This then becomes a workers comp issue.
3. If the employer does not abide by the doctors certificate (as in pay wages while the worker is off work recovering from the workplace injury) then the company would be in breach of the law.

 

[brty]

My post superceded already..

She has applied for workers comp during this period, but guess what, the insurer for this is Westpac, St George's parent. They are refusing at this stage to pay out.

Which state is she in? There are different rules in different states.

 

[benjamindennehy]

My post superceded already..



Which state is she in? There are different rules in different states.

Sydney NSW.

 

[benjamindennehy]

benjamin,

Why on earth did you join a stock investment forum to drum up support? Why don't you drum up support from forums where you are a member? What do you expect people to do, especially as we don't know if you are faking or not, as we don't know you!?

With a very broad assumption that there is something real here, the following should apply..

1. If there is bullying in the workplace, then there is remedial action available through the companies hierarchy. If the bullying is causing stress then go and see her doctor. (note, not the companies doctor)
2. If the doctor agrees/finds clinical levels of stress related to the bullying, they will issue a certificate for time off work. This then becomes a workers comp issue.
3. If the employer does not abide by the doctors certificate (as in pay wages while the worker is off work recovering from the workplace injury) then the company would be in breach of the law.

Thank you. I was simply trying to find forums in Australia that could offer me any guidance and support. This may not have been the best one but I though finance/banking being prime it may help.

I am happy to go to any other forum you could recommend. This is not a fake. I am not seeking money, I am trying to do what I can for my Mother. It's frustrating when you are on the other side of the world and you know she is right. She has her own psychiatrists reports that totally contradict the banks. Her line manager has doctored evidence to support her version of events. She can't get access at this stage to their computer records to prove this. The bank knows this. They are stalling. It took them 4 months to handle her initial complaint then they declined it. She was given 6 weeks to respond. During that period they were not paying and still are not paying her. How can she return to a workplace that has sought to smear her and calls her a liar. It's very frustrating. Truth will come out but the bank knows they can outlast her. Westpac handles St Georg's working comp policies, they own St George. They are not paying out.

 

[sptrawler]

Thank you. I was simply trying to find forums in Australia that could offer me any guidance and support. This may not have been the best one but I though finance/banking being prime it may help.

I am happy to go to any other forum you could recommend. This is not a fake. I am not seeking money, I am trying to do what I can for my Mother. It's frustrating when you are on the other side of the world and you know she is right. She has her own psychiatrists reports that totally contradict the banks. Her line manager has doctored evidence to support her version of events. She can't get access at this stage to their computer records to prove this. The bank knows this. They are stalling. It took them 4 months to handle her initial complaint then they declined it. She was given 6 weeks to respond. During that period they were not paying and still are not paying her. How can she return to a workplace that has sought to smear her and calls her a liar. It's very frustrating. Truth will come out but the bank knows they can outlast her. Westpac handles St Georg's working comp policies, they own St George. They are not paying out.

Mate, google "Fair Work Australia", hang on here's the link.

http://www.fwa.gov.au/

They are the workplace relations commission, from what I have read they have strong union representation.
If they can't help you no one can.
I am also sure you will get better advice from them, than from this forum.
Best of luck.
Have a nice day.

 

[brty]

OK,

Firstly this is in a different state to me, so there are slight differences but the over-riding principles usually apply.

It took them 4 months to handle her initial complaint then they declined it.

This is fishy. They are not allowed by law to take that long. There is a time limit where the claim is deemed to be accepted if they do not reject it, though a quick look and i could not find it for NSW.

http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/maintop/view/inforce/act+70+1987+cd+0+N

You need to familiarize yourself with the act to be any help.

She has her own psychiatrists reports that totally contradict the banks

This is common and to be expected. This field of Work Cover is a minefield for the unwary. The insurers do not play by what most would deem "fair".

Truth will come out

don't bet on it.

The story you have told so far does not give us much to go on, nor is there much that can be done from this forum. The full story would be chronological, because the answer to the problem is thus. The whats and wherefores are not relevant here, only the procedures. To get to where you have reported, your mother must have reported an injury, seen her doctor, received work capacity certificates and started to receive compensation via weeky payments before the employers insurer (self) would send her to their doctors.

Does your mother have any witnesses to the bullying/stressful workplace or is she claiming it is a conspiracy against her? Remember, no matter how much you love your mother you are still only getting one side of the story.

 

[benjamindennehy]

Mate, google "Fair Work Australia", hang on here's the link.

http://www.fwa.gov.au/

They are the workplace relations commission, from what I have read they have strong union representation.
If they can't help you no one can.
I am also sure you will get better advice from them, than from this forum.
Best of luck.
Have a nice day.

Much obliged. Thank you

 

[benjamindennehy]

OK,

Firstly this is in a different state to me, so there are slight differences but the over-riding principles usually apply.



This is fishy. They are not allowed by law to take that long. There is a time limit where the claim is deemed to be accepted if they do not reject it, though a quick look and i could not find it for NSW.

http://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/maintop/view/inforce/act+70+1987+cd+0+N

You need to familiarize yourself with the act to be any help.


This is common and to be expected. This field of Work Cover is a minefield for the unwary. The insurers do not play by what most would deem "fair".

don't bet on it.

The story you have told so far does not give us much to go on, nor is there much that can be done from this forum. The full story would be chronological, because the answer to the problem is thus. The whats and wherefores are not relevant here, only the procedures. To get to where you have reported, your mother must have reported an injury, seen her doctor, received work capacity certificates and started to receive compensation via weeky payments before the employers insurer (self) would send her to their doctors.

Does your mother have any witnesses to the bullying/stressful workplace or is she claiming it is a conspiracy against her? Remember, no matter how much you love your mother you are still only getting one side of the story.

Thank you for this. I will definitely pass this on and look into it.

 

[stewiejp]

Please support this Group and send a message to St George's Bank.

Sounds like the issue is with the line manager, not the bank itself. If this is a "stress leave" situation, then wouldn't work-cover be paying the bills, not the banks insurer (Westpac?)
I'm in VIC so it could be different but unless it has changed in the past few weeks, or unless it is different in NSW if your doctor signs a work cover "certificate" then you are covered by Work cover and paid your normal wage for an amount of time, then it drops (from memory) to 85%... then drops again after time.
The employer is entitled and you are obliged to see their doctor as well if they demand it, but their doctor has no more "authority' than your personal doctor. So as far as I know (and I have dealt with people in this situation before), if mum is stressed and her personal doctor agrees it is work related, the doc signs off as work related stress, mum fills in some forms at doc's and at work and the ball is rolling.

Happens a bit in my industry (thankfully I don't stress though), and that's how it works down here.

 

[Tysonboss1]

My Mother is 63 years old. She has worked at St George's Bank in Sydney for nearly 7 years. She has been bullied so badly by her line manager that she took time of for stress leave. The bank has begun a smear campaign against her for daring to complain about her treatment. They have not fired her, but they have refused to pay her for the past 6 months! They have doctored evidenced and have even made allegations she is mentally ill to avoid any liability for their behaviour. She is living off her savings and is in a real desperate state of worry and distress. St George's are waiting for her to back down and return as a broken employee. She refuses but will soon be broke and destitute. Please show your support by spreading this Group message. Help me help my dear Mother get justice from a multi-national bank. They have treated her like she is nothing. Politicians and Courts seem powerless to stand up to banks, but people power can. Please support this Group and send a message to St George's Bank.

Why doesn't she just retire or find a new job.

 

[burglar]

Why doesn't she just retire or find a new job.

She has to be 69 years old to get age pension at 63.

In 2 years time, when 65, she can get age pension at 65 (I think).

Meanwhile she can't get other benefits because she has a job!

Clear?

 

[Julia]

It's a rather distinctive name. Could the OP say whether he is the same person referred to here?
http://www.ealinggazette.co.uk/eali...-southall-slur-sparks-inquiry-64767-30473547/

In asking the question, I am not intending any implication of anything contained in the article.

 

[Tysonboss1]

She has to be 69 years old to get age pension at 63.

In 2 years time, when 65, she can get age pension at 65 (I think).

Meanwhile she can't get other benefits because she has a job!

Clear?

Sh@t!!! I really don't get this system.

 

[Julia]

Sh@t!!! I really don't get this system.

The age at which someone can access the age pension has been gradually increasing, depending on when you are born. Some time back women could access the age pension at, I think, 60.
The person in question on the thread is now aged 63, i.e. born in 1949. I'm pretty sure, therefore, she would have to be 65 before she can access any government pension.