The owner of Rebel sports stores knew about an alleged secret relationship between his CEO and the head of human resources months before it was admitted, lawyers claimed.
Rebel is part of shopping giant Super Retail Group, which also includes Supercheap Auto, adventure clothing brand Macpac and outdoor specialist BCF.
Two senior female executives are now preparing to launch a possible $50 million lawsuit against the conglomerate over allegations of bullying and mismanagement.
Their lawyers claim to have explosive evidence of an undisclosed romance between chief executive Anthony Heraghty and human resources director Jane Kelly.
Super Retail Group denied Mr Heraghty had a clandestine relationship with Ms Kelly, who left the company in November 2023 after more than seven years.
Daily Mail Australia understands Mr Heraghty and Ms Kelly are separated from their respective spouses and both have children from those marriages.
The alleged affair became public when Super Retail Group made a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) on April 26.
Shopping giant Super Retail Group knew of an alleged secret relationship between its CEO Anthony Heraghty (above) and HR manager Jane Kelly months before it was admitted, according to lawyers acting in the matter of a potential $50 million lawsuit.
The company revealed that the two female executives – neither of whom are Ms Kelly – were set to take legal action with a claim for losses and damages amounting to $30 million to $50 million.
Brisbane-based Super Retail Group has an annual turnover of $3.8 billion and Mr Heraghty received total remuneration of $4.15 million last year.
Harmers Workplace Lawyers revealed on Monday it was now representing four clients who had made allegations of poor governance at Super Retail Group.
According to Super Retail Group, these allegations include bullying, victimization, mistreatment, unreasonable workloads, insufficient resources and inappropriate travel practices by the company.
Super Retail Group said its board had hired independent external advisers to investigate the allegations – including the alleged secret romance – and found none.
The company would defend any legal proceedings relating to the allegations and inform the ASX of any developments.
“As these matters are expected to be the subject of litigation, the group does not intend to make further comments at this time,” it said.
Harmers said he was approached by more current and former employees who had similar concerns about Super Retail Group after its announcement to the ASX.
Super Retail Group has denied that CEO Andrew Heraghty had a clandestine relationship with HR manager Jane Kelly (above), who left the company in November 2023 after more than seven years.
“We are confident that other current and former employees of the SSR will support the demands of our customers,” said a Harmers press release.
A person not associated with Super Retail Group presented “key evidence” about the relationship between Mr Heraghty and Ms Kelly, the statement said.
The Australian newspaper cited an anonymous source close to Super Retail Group management, describing the potential complaint as “blackmail or a shakedown.”
Harmers said his clients offered to settle the case confidentially for less than a third of the amount State Retail Group expected, or between $10 million and $16 million.
“The SSR is perfectly aware that this is not a ‘shakedown’, but a deliberately distorted legal claim for damages,” we can read.
“The SSR board of directors is said to have been aware of this relationship since December 2023, despite the SSR’s categorical denials until this month.”
Harmers said Super Retail Group appeared “exclusively focused” on allegations about a relationship between Mr Heraghty and Ms Kelly, but that was only one aspect of the alleged governance issues.
“For greater clarity, the SSR this month denied the existence of any such relationship,” the statement said.
Rebel is part of Queensland-based shopping giant Super Retail Group, which also includes Supercheap Auto, leisure equipment and clothing brand Macpac and outdoor specialist BCF.
“When Harmers pointed out that she had clear evidence of an intimate relationship, and therefore a significant unreported conflict of interest, SRG’s position immediately changed.”
Harmers claimed that after Super Retail Group made its announcement on the ASX, he informed some staff that a relationship had existed between Mr Heraghty and Ms Kelly since January this year.
“However, even from that date, such a relationship involved significant conflicts of interest,” he added.
Harmers said one of its clients made a complaint regarding “the long-term existence of the relationship and its impact on governance matters” in November last year.
The complaint, made on Super Retail Group’s internal whistleblowing platform Whispli, was forwarded to the human resources department reporting directly to Ms Kelly, Harmers said.
A person not associated with Super Retail Group presented “key evidence” about the relationship between Mr Heraghty and Ms Kelly, according to Harmers Workplace Lawyers.
Super Retail Group’s employment relations policy states that “they are permitted between team members provided they are appropriately disclosed to line management.”
Harmers said two of his clients had in recent months made protected disclosures about their employment with Super Retail Group.
“The announcement made on Friday by the ASX and the subsequent media coverage initiated by the SSR constitutes a victimization of these whistleblowers and causes them additional damage,” we can read.
Ms Kelly joined Super Retail Group as HR director of BT Financial Group, having previously worked at St George Bank and Westpac.
Mr Heraghty has been Chief Executive Officer of Super Retail Group for five years, having previously served as Managing Director for three years. He was previously Managing Director of the Bonds Group.
dailymail us
