Be polite, it is cheaper that way 

Calling a workCover employee a "fat bitch", "fucking bitch" or a “donkey” is guaranteed not to win friends and influence people.   This is the lesson that defendants John Chalhoub and Bakhos Khalil were taught in the Industrial Court of NSW.     

A WorkCover NSW inspector, Mara Karina Ochoa, was visiting the "My Good Looks Salon" hair salon at Harris Park.  The Inspector tried to explain to the defendant that the Inspector was there because a complaint had been lodged and issues identified in the work place but the defendant spoke over the Inspector and called the Inspector names such as "fat bitch", "fucking bitch", "fat cow", "racist bitch", "pig" and "donkey" and, after the Inspector told the defendant to stop using abusive language towards the Inspector, the defendant kept screaming over the Inspector.

To a second inspector, the defendants used words like "beat you up", "sort you out", "fix" the Inspector", "going to snap" and "fuck" or "fucking".

The Inspector decided to leave because the Inspector feared the defendant, who was one of three males present, was becoming violent.

On a third occasion Inspector Ochoa informed the first respondent that the purpose of their visit was to follow up on compliance matters including the Improvement Notice that had been served on 7 June 2011. While Inspector Ochoa was speaking, the first respondent spoke over her and cut her off in an angry and abusive manner using words such as "fuck" and "fucking" throughout.

The court ordered penalties of $1,000 and $300 against each of the defendants plus costs of over $4,000

WorkCover NSW appealed the judgements on the grounds that The grounds of appeal were as follows:  

1) The initial judge failed to take adequate account of relevant matters, including:

2) that the Respondent's actions were not a minor obstruction; and

3) that the Respondent's actions made it impossible for WorkCover Inspectors to go about their duties; and that the maximum penalty for an individual defendant is $16,500; and

4) that the penalties were manifestly inadequate in all the circumstances.

The appeal court increased the penalties to $3,500 for the one defendant and $2,350 for the second defendant.  The each had to pay a share of the costs.

It is good to remember the words of Otto von Bismarck:-     

“Be polite; write diplomatically; even in a declaration of war one observes the rules of politeness.”  

Read more:- http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/cases/nsw/NSWIRComm/2013/93.html