Webjet rejects legal claim its CEO Katrina Barry exaggerated her CV with false Westpac and Virgin experience

Webjet former legal chief Meaghan Simpson claims she was fired from the popular online travel company for alleging its chief executive Katrina Barry souped up her CV by making false claims about work experience at Westpac Bank and fitness group Virgin Australia.

Ms Simpson is suing for for financial compensation and unfair dismissal in the Victorian Federal Court following her departure from the company in June.

In court filings Ms Simpson alleged was sacked soon after she emailed three Webjet directors to let them know she would get legal advice about her obligations to disclose to regulators the alleged exaggerations in Ms Barry’s CV.

A claim filed in court alleges Ms Barry never practised as a lawyer, despite an announcement that she had started her career in the legal profession, according to a report in HR Leader.

The $1.7 billion Melbourne-based travel group that operates the Webjet travel website denies the allegations. It has said Ms Simpson was sacked for under-performance and it intends to defend the claim.

“Webjet’s Board completed appropriate reviews of Ms Barry’s CV and is confident in Ms Barry and her leadership of Webjet. The case is not about Ms Barry’s CV,” a spokesperson told The Nightly.

Ballooning disputes

According to a report in The Australian Financial Review, new court documents detail that Ms Simpson alleged the CEO failed to take a potential breach of the company’s internal share trading policy seriously.

The spokesperson for the travel company said: “Webjet refutes the characterisation of the allegation regarding employee shares but doesn’t intend to make any further statement while the matter is before the court. Webjet is confident in its position to defend the proceeding.”

The Financial Review reported that Webjet’s defence includes claims that Ms Simpson could not take feedback about her performance as chief legal officer. Ms Simpson reportedly denied this and alleged Ms Barry failed to provide examples of her problematic performance.

Ms Simpson is being represented by workplace law specialists Maurice Blackburn, which declined to comment further. Her LinkedIn profile details that she joined Webjet as company secretary and legal counsel in May 2024, before being promoted to general counsel in July 2024.

Three months ago Ms Simpson reposted a LinkedIn missive from the Human Rights Law Centre. It details a report on “the heavy price women pay when they blow the whistle, and how we can ensure that they are protected when they do.”

Webjet spun off its business-to-business operations into Web Travel Group in 2024. The remaining Webjet Travel Group which is the subject of the legal action is the subject of a takeover battle between rival online travel operator HelloWorld and private equity firm BGH Capital.

The case is among a ballooning number of workplace disputes before the courts. Others include a claim by a sacked trader against ANZ Bank and a separate dispute between IGA store operator Metcash and two senior former employees who alleged they were bullied by its chief financial officer.

Elsewhere, a contractor sacked by the stock exchange operator the ASX has made a court complaint he was sacked for disclosing problems with a technology project to improve back office systems.