In a full bench decision exploring what constitutes work-related conduct, essential services provider Ventia has failed to knock out the reinstatement of a firefighter who shared an Only Fans video and a meme showing three naked women in a "sickos" Facebook group of current and former colleagues.
The FWC has castigated an employer for its "unconscionable" and "intimidatory" written notice suggesting that a casual duty manager committed theft and fraud when she failed to pay for a drink or offer an explanation for missing stock, while it has also lambasted its representative, Clubs NSW, for its "unprofessional" conduct in characterising her conduct as criminal.
The FWC has upheld the sacking of a kitchen hand who turned up intoxicated in his own time to prepare for his next shift, but has berated the employer over its "failure to exercise basic decency" when leaving him to find his own way home.
A court has thrown out claims by a HR consultancy's former chief executive that she experienced relentless bullying, unilateral pay deductions and an excessive workload before her unlawful sacking in 2020 for allegedly misusing a corporate credit card.
The FWC has reinstated a worker dismissed for allegedly trying to extend her annual leave by taking sick leave, which the employer viewed as a "dishonest" attempt to mislead it.
The FWC has ordered a Gold Coast cabaret club to compensate two workers it sacked after intercepting private social media discussions about a colleague's pay, finding it treated them like they had broken into its equivalent of the Watergate complex to expose key secrets over WikiLeaks.
An "openly gay" head chef sacked for allegedly molesting female co-workers has won $16,000 compensation, after the FWC found it "more than coincidental" that his employer decided that s-xual harassment provided a valid reason for summary dismissal before it emailed employees a survey full of loaded questions.
The FWC has ordered the reinstatement of a dump truck driver dismissed after a "deeply flawed" investigation into allegations he exposed a female trainee to explicit images while passing around his phone.
A FWC member incorrectly apportioned the burden of proof and applied the wrong test for "reasonable" self-defence in ordering reinstatement of a train driver sacked after fighting with a stranger on a station concourse, a full bench has found.
