ARTICLE · 29 SEPTEMBER 2014

Employee makes 141 fraudulent expense claims. Sackable, right? Wrong!

Marque Lawyers

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Having a "valid reason" for termination is not the only consideration an employer must take into account for dismissal.

AustraliaEmployment and HR

Amber Sharp (Formerly With Marque Lawyers)

James True (Formerly With Marque Lawyers)

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The Fair Work Commission has ordered the reinstatement of an employee who IBM sacked for defrauding the company by claiming 141 "per diem" accommodation expenses for nights when he was not actually away on business. Sounds like a pretty risk-free dismissal, right? Nope. Once again, the FWC has confirmed that having a "valid reason" for termination is not the only consideration an employer must take into account when dismissing an employee who is eligible to access the unfair dismissal jurisdiction.

The conduct occurred over 18 months when the Adelaide based employee was working on a project in Melbourne. When IBM raised the matter with the employee, he claimed he'd made an honest mistake, and immediately offered to reimburse IBM for the expenses.

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