Brothel receptionist called ‘backstabbing c--t’ by boss wins unfair dismissal case

A 63-year-old receptionist working at a Melbourne-based “relaxation centre” was subjected to a harsh, unjust, and unreasonable dismissal by her employer after a 15-year tenure.

Since 2009, a 63-year-old worker has operated as a casual receptionist at a sex work venue in Melbourne’s Ringwood. The brothel – trading as Spoilers Relaxation Centre – is operated by director Christopher Hill, who has owned Spoilers throughout the receptionist’s entire 15-year tenure at the establishment.

The receptionist filed an unfair dismissal application with the Fair Work Commission and submitted background and evidence to support her case. The commission made 16 attempted phone calls to Hill, which included nine voice/text message alerts to engage him in the process. However, Hill repeatedly ignored the outreach – calling back just once over the six months of attempted contact.

The commission, therefore, determined the matter absent of Hill’s evidence.

Receptionist’s evidence

Throughout her employment, the receptionist worked the same exact hours on the same exact days, earning $350 each week, accumulating to $18,200 annually. Her responsibilities included answering the phones, booking clients, washing, drying, cleaning, and ensuring that workers were paid correctly.

The receptionist referred to her role as basically making sure “the place was running smoothly”.

“It was a thriving business, the girls were happy, everyone was happy. Yes, we were very popular, well-known at being – yes, 30 years or more had been open. So, it was very established. They had a very regular clientele and a lot of girls – some of the girls had worked there 20 years or more,” said the receptionist.

In her evidence, the receptionist claimed that for most of her tenure, Hill’s involvement with the operations of the establishment was rather distant; however, he progressively became more involved in day-to-day business operations in mid-2023.

As his involvement grew, one of Hill’s initial changes was to install cameras and microphones, including “all-around reception” and “especially around the till and our book work”, where the receptionist regularly resided. Hill also installed these surveillance devices in the “girl’s rooms” and in the “stock room” – allegedly placing mirrors behind the cameras to negate blind spots.

Hill’s office resided upstairs, with the reception desk downstairs. According to the receptionist’s evidence, Hill could observe the actions and hear the conversations of workers at the brothel and watch any interaction between the staff and clients, including the payment processes and bookings.

Just prior to her eventual dismissal, the receptionist had two months off due to a cosmetic surgery – previously intending to have just a month off work. During her recovery, the receptionist alerted her manager (not Hill) about the need for extended leave, to which the manager obliged, stating: “You take as long as you need, we’re looking forward to you coming back.”

When the receptionist eventually returned for her usual shift, Hill ventured down stairs to the reception desk and allegedly said: “How are your boobs?” to which the receptionist replied: “You know that’s not what I had.”

In her evidence, the receptionist described Hill’s behaviour upon her return as “sort of a bit cold, a bit off-hand, not particularly friendly”.

As the receptionist worked through her shift, she had a conversation with a colleague about the absence of tissues, with the conversation going: “Where are the tissues?” “Who orders them?” and “Does [Hill] order them or does the manager?”

Once again, Hill ventured down the stairs – allegedly annoyed – stating to the receptionist: “You’re always bitching and moaning. If you opened your eyes you’d find where they were.”

It became clear to the receptionist that Hill was observing the exchange between the pair about the tissues.

After Hill’s comments, business continued as usual until a potential client quizzed the receptionist on whether he could have an “intro” to the various sex workers as he was planning to return to the establishment in two weeks’ time.

The receptionist declined his request as standard practice at Spoilers had been to not provide “intros” as the workers must “do their hair and makeup” without taking a booking.

Suddenly, Hill allegedly came “running down the stairs”, as the receptionist claimed you could hear the “thump, thump, thump”. As he arrived in the foyer, Hill allegedly yelled at the receptionist, saying words to the effect of “now you are trying to sabotage the joint”, continuing a rant that the receptionist alleges “the whole place could hear”.

Hill told the workers they had to provide the potential client with an intro. After the intro, the client said “I am so sorry” to the receptionist – she claimed that “I was embarrassed, and he (the client) was embarrassed.” She alleged that Hill continued to be erratic and angry after the exchange.

Termination by a colleague

After resuming her duties, one of the other receptionists pulled the receptionist aside and told her that “[Hill] has called me in to take over your shift. You’re to give me your keys and leave.”

Shocked at the statement, the receptionist had to have the request repeated, to which she replied: “So, you’re telling me I am sacked?” The other receptionist shrugged. The receptionist then followed the instructions and left the premises after saying goodbye to her colleagues.

She only ever contacted Hill after the assumed “sacking” once, texting him to say she had not been paid for her work on her last day. Hill didn’t reply, but she was transferred $150 into her account.

‘You are nothing but a backstabbing c--t’

The receptionist recounted a previous encounter she had with Hill just two weeks before her surgery took place where Hill allegedly mentioned the possibility of her termination. During this exchange, Hill ran down the stairs and yelled: “You are nothing but a backstabbing c--t.”

The receptionist replied: “Stop running back up those stairs. Come back down and say it to my face.”

The argument ensued in regards to the bookings and business, which led to Hill allegedly screaming: “Look, you can stay, you can go. As far as I’m concerned you can f--k off … I don’t care whether you stay or leave, but as far as I’m concerned you can f--k off.”

Hill didn’t terminate the receptionist at the time as she then left to have her surgery.

‘No reason was communicated for the dismissal’

When reviewing whether the dismissal was harsh, unjust, and unreasonable, the commission detailed a flurry of reasons as to how the termination was carried out in a “poor” fashion.

“The dismissal was not consistent with the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code … [the receptionist’s] dismissal was affected through a coworker. She was dismissed without notice or warning. There is no evidence of any conduct by [the receptionist] that is sufficiently serious to justify immediate dismissal,” said the commission.

“No reason was communicated for the dismissal … In the absence of evidence of a reason, I cannot find the reason was valid. I, therefore, find there was no valid reason for the dismissal.”

It was also noted that despite Spoilers qualifying as a small business and, therefore, not having HR expertise in place, its process still underperformed these “lower expectations”.

“The process used in this case was poor … The lack of HR expertise within [Spoilers] does not excuse the use of a proxy to terminate a long-term employee by communicating ‘give me your keys and leave’,” said the commission.

Given the age of the receptionist and the length of her employment with Spoilers, finding a new job has been difficult. She did not seek reinstatement as her relationship with Hill had “utterly broken down” as she claimed, “I don’t believe the work environment there would be safe for me.”

The commission granted the receptionist compensation of $8,400 for her unfair dismissal.

Kace O'Neill

Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.