abbott – Michmutters

Former employee accuses Hawthorn of discrimination after mental health episode

A young woman is taking legal action against the AFL club she used to work for, claiming she was discriminated against after being hospitalized with a mental illness.

Sophia Salmon-Abbott, 24, suffered anxiety and depression when she was an account manager for Hawthorn, according to documents filed with the human rights division of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.

In May last year, she spent a month in hospital after suffering a severe mental health episode and was unfit to work, according to a statement of claim.

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She further claims that in July she was advised by her psychologist she could return to work gradually, starting with one full day a week, but Hawthorn did not permit this.

Sophia Salmon-Abbott is taking legal action against Hawthorn Football Club. Picture: @sophiaabbottsalmon / InstagramSource: Supplied

Ms Salmon-Abbott was removed from a group WhatsApp chat of about 12 to 15 other employees and told she could return to work only in a part-time reception role after lockdown, according to the document.

It claims Hawthorn misled Ms Salmon-Abbott about her prospects of returning to her role as commercial partnerships account executive on a gradual basis.

Evidence cited in the claim includes an email from a Hawthorn executive which was circulated among staff but not Ms Salmon-Abbott.

It is said to have instructed that Ms Salmon-Abbott would be allowed to return to the partnerships accounts team only when she could work five days.

Ms Salmon-Abbott claims she has still not been permitted to return to Hawthorn and is now working for a new employer.

She is seeking an apology and compensation for economic and non-economic loss.

Hawthorn is a high-profile partner of mental health organization Beyond Blue, which was founded by former Victorian premier and Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett.

Hawthorn president Jeff Kennett founded Beyond Blue and was chair until former prime minister Julia Gillard took over the role in 2017. It has a close relationship with the club. Picture: Stuart McEvoySource: News Corp Australia

Ms Salmon-Abbott said she never expected to be treated the way she was by an employer connected to the advocacy organisation.

“I really thought they would understand what I was going through and have effective support mechanisms in place. They did n’t, ”she said in a statement through her lawyer de ella.

“It kept me from recovering, and made me feel helpless. It also made me feel like a burden.”

Hawthorn Football Club said it “categorically rejects the allegations” and that it will defend itself in any proceedings.

“We regard the physical and mental health and safety of all our employees as our number one priority,” a statement said.

“This has been paramount in our dealings with Ms Salmon-Abbott, with the club repeatedly offering support and assistance to accommodate her circumstances.

“As the matter will be filed with VCAT, the club will not make any further comments.”

Somerton Man photo search focuses on Swinburne junior football snap from 1921

Amateur sleuthing has produced potentially tantalizing new evidence in the hunt for a photo depicting the mysterious Somerton Man when he was alive.

A 1921 snap of the under-16 football team from Swinburne Technical College — the forerunner of today’s Swinburne University of Technology — lists a “C. Webb” among the players.

Late last month, researcher Derek Abbott declared he and US forensic genealogy expert Colleen Fitzpatrick had solved the mystery, identifying the Somerton Man as Carl “Charles” Webb, a 43-year-old engineer and instrument maker from Melbourne.

Since that time, a veritable “face race” has ensued — enthusiasts across the globe have assiduously sought to discover a photo of Webb when he was alive, in order to compare it with the posthumous photos of the Somerton Man.

While the Swinburne photo, which has been published on Somerton Man online forums including Nick Pelling’s Cipher Mysteries and Professor Abbott’s Facebook group, falls considerably short of such a breakthrough, there are several facts in its favour.

The Somerton Man case has been no stranger to speculative theories over the decades, and the photo could be yet another red herring.

Not only do the listed names in the photo appear not to correspond with the order in which the boys are lined up, there is no clue as to what the initials of the boys’ first names stand for.

In this particular Webb’s case, the “C” could be for Carl or Charles, but also for Christopher, Connor, Cedric, Christian or Cameron, to name only several options.

Furthermore, Webb was not an uncommon name, and the number of “C Webbs” living in Melbourne and its surrounds during the early 1920s remains unknown.

But as bloggers have pointed out, there is some compelling circumstantial evidence in favor of the hypothesis that the right Webb could be among the rows of faces.

The list of names from the Swinburne Technical College’s under-16 football team of 1921.(Swinburne University of Technology/Swinburne Commons)

Carl Webb was born in November 1905, meaning he would have turned 16 in the year the photo was taken.

An item in the student journal, The Swinburnian, lists C. Webb among the technical college’s 1921 scholarship students—notably in the field of engineering.

An item from Swinburne’s student journal from 1921 lists C. Webb among its engineering scholarship winners.(Swinburne Commons)

Also, there is strong evidence that the Carl Webb identified as the Somerton Man played Australian rules football.

Webb’s father was a baker, and an article from The Dandenong Journal from October 2, 1930, reports that a “Mr C Webb, of the bakery, fell and again injured his leg” during a game.

On his blog, Mr Pelling acknowledged that the hypothesis required investigation.

“It’s a great starting point, one that begged to be advanced further,” he wrote.

Cross-referencing efforts on Mr Pelling’s blog have suggested names for some of the boys in the photo.

Some commenters have suggested two figures on the far left — one in the middle row, the other in the bottom row — as potential candidates, speculating on physical similarities.

Mr Pelling has indicated he has sought further information from Swinburne archivists about whether a Carl Webb was at the college at the time.

The hypothesis will be harder to prove than disprove — if the initial “C” stands for something other than “Charles” or “Carl”, then the theory will have been refuted.

If, on the other hand, either of those names is confirmed, further work will be required to determine which of the boys is Webb, and whether he is the same Webb as the Somerton Man.

It remains unclear at this point in time if this is another false trail — or the start of an entirely new trail of discovery and revelation.

The only known photos of the Somerton Man were taken after his death.(ABC: Inside Story)

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