Real estate agent fined $10,000 for sexually harassing and bullying female assistant

The real estate agent unzipped his fly and put his hand in his pants in the office. Photo / 123RF

A real estate agent who unzipped his fly and made offensive comments about a junior staff member's genitals and breasts has been fined $10,000 but will not lose his licence.

The man has also been granted permanent name suppression to protect his future work prospects after being found guilty of sexual harassment and bullying of a younger, female colleague.

The complainant came to a confidential settlement with the agency where the pair worked and reached a financial settlement with the man after making a complaint to the Human Rights Commission.

The Real Estate Agents Disciplinary Tribunal found the man had committed disgraceful misconduct and a just-released penalty decision reveals he has been fined $10,000.

But the tribunal rejected pleas by prosecutor Michael Hodge to suspend the man's licence.

Hodge said the man's conduct demonstrated a highly concerning lack of judgment and tried to minimise his conduct by claiming the woman was a "willing participant".

"It was deeply offensive, took place in the workplace environment, where he was supervising and mentoring [the woman] who was new to the real estate industry, and continued over a period of five months."

However the tribunal ruled the man had no previous disciplinary history and had expressed remorse.

"The defendant accepted responsibility for many (but not all) of his comments and apologised to [the woman]," the decision says.

"The defendant has clearly had a great deal of success as a salesperson, particularly for one of his age. It may be that along with that success, and his acknowledged lack of experience in managing those who worked with him, came a degree of over-confidence, which led to a lack of judgment and a lack of awareness of the effect of what he said and did."

The tribunal heard the woman joined the agency in July 2014 as the defendant's personal assistant.

But within months the woman grew concerned by the man's behaviour towards her and sexual language.

He was alleged to have called the woman "s**t tits", "ugly" and "pregnant belly".

The agent was accused of making her stand on a desk and peering up her skirt, then commenting on her underwear.

He admitted commenting on her underwear but denied looking up her skirt.

"The defendant would casually undo his fly zip, put his hand in his pants, and zip and unzip his fly zip," the woman alleged.

The tribunal found he had zipped and unzipped his fly in her presence, which was "inappropriate in a shared office".

The man made other lewd comments too offensive to print. He also called her "biscuit nipples" and "slave".

"You might as well walk out now, no one will believe you; the only reason you got the job is because of me," he told the woman.

On another occasion he said she was "bats*** ugly" and "I wouldn't f*** you with a 10-foot barge pole".

The man defended his actions, saying he was only joking and trying to "lighten the mood" and the language was simply office culture.

But he later accepted responsibility and apologised to the woman. He resigned from the agency in late 2014 and voluntarily suspended his licence in February this year.

The man's lawyer said the woman "gave as good as she got, but her client admitted making "crude, juvenile and offensive remarks".

"He did not appreciate at the time that he had upset [the woman], but he had picked up the telephone and apologised to her once it had been drawn to his attention.

"He said he had grown up a lot since this experience, and is more professional and careful in his dealings with co-workers, especially those who are junior to him."