The Federal Magistrates Court in Sydney slapped on Wednesday a $15,500 fine on a Qantas and a manager for bullying an employee. Citing the Fair Work Act, the court said Qantas manager Peter Cawthorne coerced aircraft engineer Luke Murray into withdrawing a claim worth $10,000.

Mr Murray was sent by Qantas to serve as a reliever in Tokyo for several months. Upon his return, he filed for additional payments based on entitlements under the aircraft engineers' enterprise agreement due to excess hours and onerous shift work.

However, Mr Cawthorne pressured the aircraft engineer to withdraw his application and suspended overseas posting for all aircraft engineers until Mr Murray withdrew his claim.

"It's certainly something that our engineers look forward to. We're not like pilots or flight attendants who get to base themselves overseas and this went on for a few weeks where everyone was denied access to overseas postings until such time that we lodged an application with the Federal Court," ABC quoted Steve Purvinas of the Licenced Aircraft Engineers' Association.

Because of Qantas's breach of the Fair Work Act, Federal Magistrate Kenneth Raphael fined the air carrier $13,200 and Mr Cawthorne $2,200. The decision ended a two-year battle between Qantas and Mr Murray.

"The reaction to Mr Murray's attempt to secure himself his entitlements was strong, and it should be made clear to other corporations and individuals that it was wrong and should not occur elsewhere," Perth Now quoted the court's ruling.

Qantas said it would not appeal the court decision, but insisted it takes its responsibilities under the Fair Work Act seriously. The lawyer who represented Mr Murray said the court ruling is a warning against bullying.

"It's significant because it's rare to see, not just the company but senior manager of the company being fined. This is a strong message to employers and to bullies in the workplace," lawyer Giri Sivaraman of Maurice Blackburn told ABC.

RELATED STORIES