A dispute between the founders of wellness brand Bon Charge and their former chief marketing officer has revealed allegations of a "scandalous" dossier compiled by the executive. The company is facing claims from ex-chief marketing officer Zoe Phillips-Price, who alleges she was forced to resign in August 2025 due to "adverse omissions" and "false and misleading statements" about her role.
Bon Charge, founded by husband-and-wife team Andy and Katie Mant, sells wellness products such as red light therapy panels and blue-light blocking glasses in 137 countries. The company disputes Ms. Phillips-Price's claims, arguing that the dossier contained irrelevant and scandalous material.
According to a Fair Work Commission decision, Ms. Phillips-Price stated she was notified of her dismissal on August 28, 2025, and submitted her resignation the same day. In her resignation letter, she outlined that the nature of her position had "materially and unilaterally changed" and no longer reflected her contract. She argued her resignation was compelled by the fact that the chief marketing officer role no longer existed in substance.
Ms. Phillips-Price subsequently engaged Harmers Workplace Lawyers, filing a general protections claim with the Fair Work Commission. The claim alleged that the company failed to provide a safe system of work and manage psychosocial risks. Her lawyers contended that the company's failure to address her concerns about a lack of resources and support constituted "adverse omissions" that injured her employment, alleging that Bon Charge engaged in a course of conduct designed to result in her departure.
In preparation for a hearing, Ms. Phillips-Price compiled a dossier including witness statements from six former employees, which Bon Charge's legal team argued contained at least 18 serious allegations about the conduct of the company's directors and other employees. The evidence reportedly included allegations of an unsafe workplace, abusive communications, unreasonable hours, misrepresentations about the chief marketing officer role, and systemic compliance issues, including misleading advertising.
Bon Charge's lawyers argued that much of the material was irrelevant to Ms. Phillips-Price's departure, with only a few paragraphs directly relating to her stated reasons for resigning. They claimed that 100 out of 182 paragraphs contained "scandalous material."
Ms. Phillips-Price's legal team withdrew the claim before a hearing, citing plans to escalate the matter to the Federal Court. In a notice of discontinuance, the lawyers stated that the nature of the dispute and legal issues had become further apparent and that they were instructed to commence proceedings in the Federal Court.
Following the withdrawal, Bon Charge sought costs for the time spent reviewing the allegations, which they described as "scandalous." Deputy President Bryce Cross of the Fair Work Commission rejected the costs application, finding that the material had some peripheral relevance to Ms. Phillips-Price's claim. The deputy president also rejected the argument that the withdrawal indicated the claim was never intended to be pursued, stating it was not clear at the time of filing that the application would fail.
Neither Bon Charge, Harmers Workplace Lawyers, nor Ms. Phillips-Price have commented on the proceedings in the Federal Court. The initial allegations remain untested in court.