Bullying boss who punched his student while hanging upside down at work Christmas party in Melbourne claims he was shocked

A bully boss who was caught on camera punching, egging and laughing at his student as he was hung upside down at a work Christmas party claims he has suffered enough from the resulting bad publicity.

Steven Yousif, 27, pleaded guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday to operating an unsafe workplace.

Ilyas Elkharraz, who was 23 years old at the time, said he was “degraded, humiliated and embarrassed” by his ordeal, which was filmed in December 2020 by a “colleague” at the window manufacturer.

Video played at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court showed Yousif repeatedly punching the helpless young worker as others laughed in the background.

Mr Elkharraz, who moved to Australia from Morocco, resigned from Melbourne Glass Solutions after the abuse and launched a case with Victoria’s workplace safety watchdog.

Yousif’s lawyer Joseph D’Abaco claimed that his client had suffered enough from the consequences of that revelation.

“There is before you evidence of the negative publicity attracted by the filing of these charges by the prosecutor and the showing of a program about A Current Affair,” he said.

“That program and the resulting publicity have a certain notoriety in the public forum.”

Mr D’Abaco complained that his client’s customers and potential clients had been put off by his appalling behaviour.

“Some customers, some construction contractors, have ended their business relationships as a result,” he said.

Yousif personally faces an $80,000 fine, but his company, which now trades as JADEN commercial windowswill escape justice after shutting down Melbourne Glass Solutions after WorkSafe Victoria took an interest in it.

Mr D’Abaco called on Magistrate Andrew Sim to not only limit his client’s financial punishment but also spare him from conviction.

The lawyer claimed that a hefty fine could lead to Yousif winding down JADEN and costing the jobs of its young employees.

‘There is a real risk if the court convicts Mr Yous if this would affect JADEN’s ability to successfully tender for certain projects.’ said Mr D’Abaco.

“It would clearly impose a serious financial burden on JADEN… but it would also impact JADEN’s employees… who could potentially suffer collateral damage through no fault of their own.”

It was an entry that was rejected by Mr Sim.

“It is unfortunate that this was not central to your client’s thoughts as he engaged in bullying behavior for two years and two months,” he responded.

Mr Sim also criticized Yousif for not providing any real evidence to support his claims that the ACA report had affected his business.

“There is nothing before the court that can establish in concrete terms that there has been a negative impact on the company’s finances,” he said.

The court heard Yousif admitted to ruthlessly tormenting Mr Elkharraz and another young employee.

Opening the case, WorkSafe Victoria prosecutor Tristan Joseph said Yousif’s conduct had long-lasting consequences for Mr Elkharraz.

“During his employment he was bullied by Mr Yousif, which gradually exhausted him and had a huge effect on his mental health,” he said.

“Mr. Elkharraz claims that Mr. Yousif caused him bodily harm, verbally abused him and threatened to terminate his employment.”

The court heard Yousif also banned Mr Elkharraz from attending his TAFE classes.

A video played in court showed a topless Mr Elkharraz hanged from the roof of Yousif’s warehouse during the company’s 2020 Christmas party.

‘Part of the incident was filmed and shared on SnapChat. The video shows a topless Mr Elkharraz being beaten by Mr Yousif while hanging above the ground,” Mr Joseph said.

In another incident, Mr Elkharraz claimed his boss threatened to ‘slap’ him before grabbing him by the neck and pushing him to the ground.

Another employee claimed Yousif threatened to fire him, intimidated him and swore at him.

Like Mr Elkharraz, the victim also claimed he was banned from attending his studies.

“He claimed it made him feel scared, intimidated, insulted and threatened,” Mr Joseph said.

The court heard Yousif gave a ‘no comment’ interview to WorkSafe investigators when questioned about his offending.

Magistrate Sim, who will sentence Yousif next month, condemned Yousif’s conduct, which he said was exacerbated by him being the sole director of the company.

“Treating employees, when you are the boss and running the company in a respectful manner, without engaging in the conduct alleged in this matter, is not rocket science,” he said.

When discussing the release of court documents to the media, the respected magistrate was forced to admonish Yousif’s lawyer after he delivered a long-winded rant.

During the heated exchange, Mr D’Abaco repeatedly spoke over the magistrate and raised his voice at him.

“I don’t think the combative tone necessarily helps Mr. D’Abaco,” Mr. Sims told the lawyer before closing the hearing and leaving the court.

When the matter returned, Mr D’Abaco apologized to Mr Sim.

“If Your Honor has identified me as belligerent, I apologize, sir. It wasn’t intentional,” he said.

Yousif will be sentenced in December.