Qantas has succeeded in its appeal to undo the unfair dismissal
finding for a flight attendant who stole alcohol and lied during
the investigation. The FWC Full bench overturned the ruling of
unfair dismissal in Qantas Airways Limited v David Dawson
[2017] FWCFB 41, finding that Deputy President Lawrence had failed
to take into account the Qantas employee's dishonesty during
the investigation into allegations of theft.
Background Facts
Qantas dismissed the veteran flight attendant after a small
amount of alcohol was found in his possession during a random
post-flight search, in breach of Qantas' policy against removal
of company property. The attendant initially claimed that he got
the 50mL bottle of Beefeater Gin, among other beverages found in
his possession, during his stay at a Sydney hotel with his wife the
day before. Upon investigation Qantas found that the hotel in fact
did not stock any miniature liquor. When confronted, Mr Dawson
changed his story,
