Channel Seven is rocked by bombshell lawsuit from key Home and Away staff member

Daily Mail​

3 days ago

A veteran Home and Away scriptwriter whose name still appears on the credits of the long-running soap is the latest Seven employee to sue the network.
Fiona Bozic, who has worked at Seven for more than 20 years, lodged a Fair Work claim last month in the Federal Court of Australia.
Bozic filed a statement with the court under breach of general protections provisions and is being represented by Thrive Workplace Consulting & Legal.
According to LinkedIn, Bozic is a script producer and scriptwriter for Seven on programs including Home and Away, and previously wrote for Network Ten's Neighbours.
'My responsibilities are broad and primarily focused on overseeing the creation of engaging, creative and compelling storylines,' her LinkedIn profile states.
'I have contributed to a variety of story themes that are appealing to diverse audiences, including domestic violence and mental health trauma.
'With responsibility of creating a detailed plot for five episodes a week, I am heavily involved in structuring episodes, creating characters and recruiting script department personnel who can add value to the process.'
As part of her role, Bozic works closely 'with a range of internal stakeholders, including executives, promotions, script and production teams'.
Bozic is credited as script producer in a Home and Away promotion for Lynne McGranger's upcoming farewell as Summer Bay matriarch Irene Roberts.
McGranger's final scenes were shot in March and will be screened next month, bringing an end to Gold Logie-nominee's 33 years on the show.
Bozic declined to discuss her specific claims against Seven when approached by the Daily Mail this week.
A network spokeswoman said: 'As this matter is before the courts, Seven will not be commenting.'
Bozic joins a long list of Seven employees to recently to take legal action against the network.
Producer Matthew McGrane, who has worked at Seven for about 23 years - most recently on Sunrise - is currently suing his employer in the Federal Court.
The exact details of McGrane's claim are unclear but it comes after he fell from his wheelchair and suffered terrible injuries while travelling from Seven's office in Sydney's Eveleigh to continue a shift at home.
McGrane discussed the accident on the ABC's Four Corners program last August.
He said his shift on the Sunrise program went until midnight every night, but he had reached an arrangement with management where he could leave at 9pm and finish his shift at home.
The arrangement meant McGrane, who has used a wheelchair for more than 20 years, would be able to access buses before they stopped running at 11pm.
Three months into the new schedule, however, he had a fall on his way to the bus.
McGrane said he left the building at 9.30pm one night and while steering his wheelchair through the dark and rain hit a gap in the footpath.
'My wheels got caught. I came flying out, I landed extremely awkwardly, ended up breaking my lower arm,' he said.
'As I came out my face dragged along the pavement, I could feel my teeth scraping along the footpath because they'd actually gone through my lip.
'I was in agonising pain and I was howling like a dog. I'd actually ripped all the muscles off the bone. And they had to drill a hole into my arm to reattach the muscles.'
McGrane told Four Corners that with just one functioning arm, he was trapped at home and unable to care for himself for 10 weeks.
He filed a workers' compensation claim to pay for a carer.
But although the injury happened while he was rostered on, Seven told his insurer there was no formal agreement allowing him to split his shift.
A network spokesperson told the Daily Mail in April: 'Seven rejects the claims made by Mr McGrane and will defend its position in this matter.'
'As this is now before the courts, we are unable to comment further.'
Journalist Amelia Saw launched Federal Court action against Seven under the Fair Work Act in September last year, claiming she was subjected to a hostile working environment at Spotlight in 2022.
Seven 'strongly and categorically' rejected Saw's allegations and her claim was settled in January.
Walkley Award-winning crime reporter Robert Ovadia commenced Federal Court proceedings for wrongful dismissal against Seven after he was sacked in June last year for allegedly inappropriate conduct.
Ovadia, who denied any wrongdoing, eventually dropped that action due to the financial cost and emotional toll involved.
Meanwhile, former Spotlight producer Taylor Auerbach is suing Seven for defamation in the Federal Court.
Auerbach alleges the network made disparaging and false statements about his involvement in securing an interview with accused rapist Bruce Lehrmann, causing him to be shunned and vilified.
Seven has said it will 'strenuously defend its position' in relation to Auerbach.
McGrane's matter is set for an interlocutory hearing in August. Auerbach's case is listed for a case management hearing in October.