Television weather presenter Amber Sherlock was counselled by Channel Nine over her treatment of other staff members before she was sacked, court documents say. 

Sherlock lodged a Fair Work claim in the Federal Court against her former employer Nine Entertainment Co in March, demanding more than $400,000 over claims she was retrenched because she was a 49-year-old woman.

According to her statement of claim, her duties were handed to TV presenters Maggie Rayworth, 33, Kate Creedon, 39, and Sophie Walsh, 39, because they were ‘at least ten years younger’ than her.

She also claimed she had ‘faithfully and diligently served Nine’ for 18 years, was ‘well-liked’ among her peers, and that it was no coincidence that her sacking took place three weeks before her 50th birthday.

However, Nine’s defence filings tell a different story.

The broadcaster said Sherlock was made redundant because there was no ‘ongoing operational need’ for a dedicated evening news weather presenter in Sydney, and reiterated eight times that she wasn’t interested in any other roles at the company.

Defence filings stated Sherlock’s job was given to Rayworth, Creedon, Walsh, along with Belinda Russell, 48, because they were able to present the weather and complete their broader responsibilities.

Nine also did not accept Sherlock’s claim that she was a ‘well-liked and popular member of the news division’s team’, or that her 18 years of service had anything to do with her dedication to the company.

Amber Sherlock (pictured) is suing Channel Nine in the Federal Court for unlawful dismissal

Amber Sherlock is pictured with veteran Sydney Nine News anchor Peter Overton

Nine says some of Amber Sherlock’s roles were given to Belinda Russell, 48

‘[Nine] admits [Sherlock] was employed for more than 18 years, but denies this was consistent with faithfulness and diligence,’ it said.

‘During the employment, [Sherlock] was counselled by [Nine] regarding her communications and interactions with colleagues.’

Sherlock found herself at the centre of a controversy in 2017 when footage was leaked from inside Nine’s studios of her arguing with colleagues about the colour of jacket they were wearing.

In an incident known as ‘jacketgate’, footage showed Sherlock demanding her colleague change into a different colour jacket during an ad break.

According to her statement of claim, Sherlock had coffee with Nine’s head of news Fiona Dear at the network’s North Sydney headquarters between August and September last year.

Sherlock claims Dear compared her to the likes of veteran Sydney news anchor Peter Overton, saying: ‘You’ll be here forever, we’ll wheel you and Pete out of here.’

In defence filings, Nine said Dear denies making that statement, and said the only reference to other employees presenting on the evening news was made by Sherlock because she wanted new headshots.

In her statement of claim, Sherlock said news director Michael Best and an HR employee told her on November 10 that her role was redundant, asked her to leave the building immediately and cut off her access to Nine’s servers.

Sherlock said younger TV reporter Sophie Walsh (pictured) was given some of her duties

Sherlock said Maggie Rayworth (above) was given some of her duties because she is younger

Kate Creedon (pictured) was named by Sherlock as a younger TV presenter who was given some of her duties

She also claimed she was initially told there were three redeployment options within the company, but was informed via Zoom two days later there were no options available in the Sydney newsroom and that her employment would be terminated.

Sherlock said she showed ‘preliminary’ interest in the roles but Nine didn’t give her another job due to a ‘hybrid combination of both [Sherlock’s] age and sex … because she was an almost 50-year-old woman’.

‘Nine treated the consultation process as a mere formality,’ Sherlock claimed.

In its defence, Nine said Sherlock was sent three journalist roles in Newcastle, Tamworth and Port Macquarie on November 10, but she wasn’t interested in any of them and she didn’t submit any applications.

It also said she was not told to immediately cease work and leave the premises; rather, there was no work left for her to do after the November 10 meeting, and her access to IT systems was only ‘briefly paused’.

Further, the broadcaster claimed Sherlock told a member of human resources that she was not interested in redeployment.

Nine made a number of Sydney-based reporters redundant between July and November, but Sherlock claims they didn’t take her experience or public standing into account when deciding on her retrenchment.

Sherlock instead claims the network took her age and sex into account.

Amber Sherlock is suing Nine for about $400,000 in damages

She is seeking rulings that Nine discriminated against her based on age and sex and that it contravened the terms of her award. 

She wants $293,154 for economic loss, $100,000 in general damages for hurt to her reputation and career and $30,000 for each contravention of the Fair Work Act.

Other female employees at Nine who are around Sherlock’s age include Belinda Russell, Deb Knight, Tracy Grimshaw, Gabby Rogers, Christine Ahern, Leila McKinnon, Tara Brown, Melissa Downes, and Monika Kos. 

The matter returns to court on September 9.