other projects.

Working long hours

He alleges he found himself working extended hours late into the evening for weeks at a time, including some weekends, leaving him stressed and exhausted and with little time to study for his Chartered Accounting qualification.

He also alleges that PwC colleagues mocked him for being from Tasmania, despite his repeated requests they stop. In another instance, he alleges a PwC staff member called him "dodgy" in front of a client.

At the end of a short project in mid-2009, the junior accountant received a negative evaluation he claimed was unfair given his workload at the time, according to a summary of the case by an independent counsel retained by the Public Trustee.

Further negative reviews resulted in the junior accountant being put onto two consecutive performance plans.

'Unfairlytargeted'

The junior accountant claimed this was unfair as he believed he was performing well given his workload and the fact he continued to be assigned to projects for major clients.


"I was put on first-year client projects without adequate supervision when I had just two years of experience," he said.

"On a first-year client it requires someone with more experience because you're doing the audit from scratch and learning about the business.

"These people are not professional."

PwC staff said in their statements that the junior accountant was not working to the required level.

Either way, the junior accountant's health suffered following the review process, as he described in the case summary.

"At this time, I hit my ultimate low point. I had tried to stay positive throughout my experience working for PwC but