Australian Radio Network (ARN), the owner of KIIS 106.5, has asserted in court filings that radio personality Jackie 'O' Henderson effectively terminated her own contract by refusing to work with co-host Kyle Sandilands following a contentious on-air argument. Henderson had initiated legal action against ARN, seeking substantial compensation after her contract was terminated following the February incident.
According to ARN's amended defense filed in the Federal Court, Henderson's contract was exclusively for "The Kyle & Jackie O Show" in the breakfast timeslot. The network contends that Henderson's subsequent actions, including a letter from her lawyers stating she "cannot continue to work with Mr Sandilands" and would not present a breakfast program, constituted a self-termination of her employment.
ARN's filings state that Henderson's lawyers sent a letter of complaint on March 3, approximately two weeks after the on-air dispute. This letter reportedly conveyed Henderson's inability to continue working with Sandilands and her unwillingness to host a breakfast radio program. ARN's parent company, CBC, then declared Henderson's contract validly terminated the same day, citing her statements as akin to ending her own employment.
The dispute originated from an on-air segment on February 20, where Sandilands made comments about Henderson's "fixation" on astrology, which she reportedly found upsetting, leading her to leave the studio in tears. Henderson's legal claim asserts that ARN failed to intervene during Sandilands' alleged bullying and did not provide a safe work environment. She argued that the termination of her contract was unlawful, as she had expressed a willingness to continue with ARN on a different program, not necessarily end her employment entirely.
ARN's defense also addresses a loan share agreement tied to Henderson's contract. Under this agreement, Henderson was allocated $3 million worth of ARN stocks. The contract stipulated that this loan would generally be waived on its repayment date, but could become repayable under "bad leaver" circumstances. ARN has labeled Henderson a "bad leaver," a determination that, if upheld, could require her to repay the $3 million. The company's board declared a "bad leaver" event on April 29, and the shares were sold to repay the loan on May 5.
Henderson disputes that the "bad leaver" clause was validly triggered, maintaining that ARN unlawfully terminated her contract. She is claiming compensation of at least $82.25 million for breach of the Fair Work Act, alleging the broadcaster made misleading and deceptive statements in an ASX announcement on March 3. This announcement, she claims, wrongly conveyed that she had terminated her own contract and was not intending to work for ARN, and inaccurately suggested she had been offered an alternative show.
ARN has not disputed the alleged bullying by Sandilands but maintains it acted appropriately through welfare checks and internal discussions following the on-air incident. Sandilands' own contract was also terminated following Henderson's departure. He subsequently settled his own civil claim against ARN for unfair dismissal in June, receiving approximately $12 million after initially suing for $82.5 million.
Henderson's Fair Work claim is scheduled to be heard in Sydney's Federal Court in October.