A Queensland public servant has been reprimanded after clashing with her German colleague and secretly nicknaming her ‘Helga’.
Nikki Hornberg took the Department of Transport and Main Roads in Warwick to the Queensland Industrial Relations Commission (QIRC) after being pulled up on her behaviour on March 11.
She argued the reprimand and extra training she was given after ‘mocking’ her ‘abrupt’ German colleague and using the phrase ‘Nein, Nein’ was unfair.
But QIRC Commissioner John Dwyer disagreed with Ms Hornberg and ruled the reprimand was fair in a decision handed down on July 17.
He stated Ms Hornberg, who worked as a ‘project costing officer’, had been racially stereotyping her German co-worker.
The colleague in question reportedly spoke with a strong German accent, but was not named Helga.
‘The use of the name ‘Helga’ when referring to the co-worker in question is enough, of itself, to justify the sanction imposed,’ he concluded, as reported by the Courier Mail.
Ms Hornberg did not deny that she referred to her German colleague as Helga behind her back.
The colleague has not officially complained about the nickname or was unaware of it.
TMR managers who knew about the nickname were said to be ‘inept’, Mr Dwyer stated.
He also said the claim Ms Hornberg used the phrase ‘Nein, Nein’ was not ‘particularly strong’.
However, the allegation would stand as Ms Hornberg had not appealed that finding.
‘Taking into account a permissive attitude or management ineptitude, it is plain from the evidence (including Ms Hornberg’s own concessions) that she was using the name ‘Helga’ discourteously and disrespectfully,’ he wrote.
Mr Dwyer said Ms Hornberg should have been aware of the negative connotations of the nickname and should not have needed a manager to tell her to refrain from using it.
‘There can be no doubt the choice of the name ‘Helga’ is a form of racial stereotyping,’ Mr Dwyer added.
The judge ruled that the simple reason Ms Hornberg chose not to address her colleague with the nickname proves that her intention was one of ‘mocking’.
Witnesses interviewed during the investigation alleged Ms Hornberg clashed with her German co-worker over a particular entry in a time sheet.
Ms Hornberg’s behaviour towards her colleague changed following this disagreement.
The judge noted witnesses agreed the German colleague was also ‘abrupt in her communication style’.
Several witnesses, including a manager, did not think Ms Hornberg’s use of the name ‘Helga’ was offensive, which Mr Dwyer described as ‘concerning’.
Ms Hornberg argued the conduct issue should have been dealt with by TMR as a ‘performance issue’ at a local level and should not have been escalated to a disciplinary issue.
Mr Dwyer stated this proved Ms Hornberg’s ‘troubling lack of insight … into the objective seriousness of her conduct’.
It also showed she was oblivious to the potential legal consequences for TMR as her name-calling created a risk her colleague could sue TMR for discrimination.