The Weekend Sunrise newsreader Talitha Cummins has reached a confidential settlement with the Seven Network after claiming she was sacked unfairly while on maternity leave, a court has heard.
Cummins, who did not appear before the federal circuit court on Friday, previously submitted an application for unfair dismissal alleging Seven’s director of news, Craig McPherson, contacted her to say she would not be on Weekend Sunrise when she returned from maternity leave.
Her lawyer, Sam Lavery, said they had reached a confidential settlement with Seven and Cummins would not be reinstated at the network.
Cummins went on leave shortly before the birth of her son, Oliver, fully expecting to return to her newsreading role with the program when she returned in February.
On her last day before maternity leave, co-host Monique Wright said in a segment on Cummins’ departure: “We can’t wait for you to come back, it becomes very real now when you finish work.”
Co-host Andrew O’Keefe said she should “make sure you come back”.
But in October, Cummins alleged, she received a phone call from McPherson telling her she was no longer under contract. Cummins was reportedly offered another job, as an early morning weekday newsreader, which she would have been unable to accept because of her parental responsibilities.
Seven disputed that Cummins was a permanent employee and that she had been entitled to a return-to-work guarantee, Fairfax Media reported.
