Evolve Media Australian office embroiled in Fair Work claim
Content agency Evolve Media – owner of The Mum Collective and Feeds Media – is embroiled in a legal dispute with its former head of agency partnerships Angela Cann over a separation payments dispute.
The dispute arose when Cann was made redundant five months after the company’s restructure last February that saw it split into two separate arms focused on millennial brands and parenting.
Cann has claimed $65,000 for unpaid redundancy, leave entitlements and commission payments after being made redundant in July last year.
In her statement submitted to the Federal Circuit Court in Sydney, Cann alleges she was made redundant while on sick leave after making a bullying complaint against Evolve’s Australian general manager, Joel King.
When Cann sought to be paid out the entitlements in her $150,000 a year contract, she alleges the company refused to do so. In her statement, she alleges CEO Aaron Broder warned her legal representatives that the US parent company was prepared to wind up the Australian arm should her claims be successful.
Cann’s statement of claim alleges:
“On or about 22 August , 2017, the Employer and/or Mr Broder, represented to the Employee (through her legal representative) that, inter alia, if the Employee pursued her redundancy and long service leave entitlements:
(a) they would commence proceedings against the Employee for engaging in fraudulent conduct in taking sick leave;
(b) Mr Broder would cause the Employer to enter into liquidation such that, no matter what actions the employee took to enforce her rights, she would be unable to recover any money from the Employer; and
(c) the Employee had no choice but to abandon her claims against the Employer.”
Subsequently, Cann alleges the company changed its reason for dismissing her from redundancy to ‘serious and wilful misconduct’.
Cann was originally employed by Evolve subsidiary Gorilla Nation as senior account manager when the company set up its Australian operations in 2010 and was promoted to head of agencies for the company’s Mum Collective arm in the restructure.
At the time Evolve Media’s sales director, Sally Wood was appointed head of The Mum Collective, however she left the company five months later and her duties were taken over by King.
Along with Evolve, Cann has also named King and US-based executives, CEO Aaron Broder and chief counsel Joshua Ellingwood, as parties in the case. They and the company are yet to file a defence to her claims.
Both Cann and King declined to comment on the case. When approached by Mumbrella to comment about the performance of the Australian business since the reorganisation, CEO Aaron Broder said: “We are very pleased with the results of the restructure.”
Why on earth is this industry news and you filling my inbox with this and other “breaking news such as ECD leaves Agency”?…How do I benefit from needing to know the minutia of a separation dispute between an employee and their former employer?.
I simply don’t care if a creative director leaves and agency…..and to fill my inbox with other irrelevant breaking news is frustrating.
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exactly right Rohan
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Hi Rohan, I think you’ll find the “breaking news such as ECD leaves Agency” was an email from another publication.
If receiving news about media and marketing agencies distresses you, then I’d suggest subscribing to the mailing lists of publications covering the media and marketing industry is probably not going to be helpful.
Enjoy your weekend,
Paul Wallbank
News Editor
I think this is industry news.
We have the right to know, from a news point, all aspects of what’s going on in the industry.
It’s up to the reader to pick and choose what they want to read.
Comment edited under Mumbrella’s comments policy
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Hi Paul,
Why bother responding in a negative manner to a readers opinion on your own story. Just makes you seem inexperienced, you come across as an intern or amateur writer.
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Hi Andrew F,
I like the fact he responds; it shows care, interest and the fact he is involved in the opinions of others.
I don’t think Paul was being negative, he was being constructively helpful, since I’m not sure Rohan can read because he didn’t know who the email was from. And maybe Rohan is new to email since I’m not sure he knows how to unsubscribe.
I think amateur writing is when you miss apostrophes in possessive nouns.
I do hope he’s not an intern because I’m sure his salary is much higher than the award wage. In fact, I think I saw him buying a round in the Lord Gladstone in Chippendale and his wallet had more the three $50 notes in it, confirming he is at least in a resonable wage bracket.
I do hope your day improves Andrew F. Maybe ask them to up the dose.
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I love this shit!!
Keep it coming!!!
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