Country Road asks employees to stop speaking out about allegations of sexual harassment by manager

The CEO of Country Road Group has reportedly sent an email urging his employees not to speak to the media about serious allegations of sexual assault made against a former executive.

Last year, former executive Rachid Maliki faced numerous allegations of sexual assault and harassment by male and female employees.

On Tuesday morning (28 May), Roy Bagattini, chief executive of Woolworths Holdings, Country Road’s parent company, sent out a company-wide email expressing disappointment at the media coverage of the allegations and asking employees to direct all media enquiries to the company rather than speak to journalists themselves.

The Herald Sun receive a copy of the emailwhich stated:

“You are no doubt aware that some of our team members have made preemptive contact with the media, resulting in various speculative news reports,” he said.

“The external attention brought to our company by these news articles can be disturbing and comes at a difficult time for you, but also for us as a company.

“If you are contacted by the media, please refer them to Leonie Mayson, Group Communications Manager.

“I would like to urge everyone again to complete the process and determine the outcome based on the facts.”

Bagattini also referred to the internal investigation currently underway and told employees that the report was “almost complete.”

Employees believe that media coverage of whistleblowers forced the company to act

Sources within the company believe that it was only because of the discussions with the media that any action was taken. Moreover, the media coverage appears to have forced the company to take notice and launch an official investigation.

“It’s a miracle that the report is now finished, a month earlier than planned,” a source told the Herald Sun.

The Country Road Group confirmed in a statement that “some team members” had provided Country Road with “feedback” on how their complaints were “handled” and that the parent company had since taken “immediate action”.

“The Country Road Group (CRG) takes every complaint of harassment, including sexual harassment, very seriously and has a zero-tolerance policy for such matters,” The explanation is.

“This independent review is currently in its final stages and the results are expected to be shared with CRG team members in June.

“It is critical to us that all team members feel safe, valued and included in our workplace.

“We sincerely thank team members for expressing and voicing their concerns.”

Allegations against Country Road managers came from several sources

In October last year, several employees made allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment by Rachid Maliki.

The allegations include reports of repeated harassment of employees, including unsolicited touching and kissing. Both male and female employees came forward to report Maliki’s behavior.

After the allegations were made to the company, Maliki resigned from his position as a senior executive at Country Road Group.

Maliki previously worked as General Manager at RM Williams. It is also claimed by several sources that Maliki faced similar allegations during his time at RM Williams.

Melbourne law firms take over investigation into alleged cover-up

The Herald Sun also reported on Monday that two Melbourne law firms have been appointed to investigate the series of allegations, as well as claims by employees of an alleged cover-up by the company’s CEO, Raju Vuppalapati – a long-time friend of Maliki.

“People were definitely angry that nothing was done sooner. It shouldn’t have been necessary for several people to come forward,” a whistleblower from the company told the Herald Sun.

“It was as if Raju was trying to protect his mate and cover it up.

“The place is on fire right now. Everyone is so unhappy and so disappointed with management and what they continue to do to us.”

“I think everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Rachid resigned.”

The Star Observer has contacted Country Road Group for comment but has not received a response at the time of publication.