The Full Bench of Fair Work Australia has upheld the decision of
Deputy President Hamilton to dismiss an unfair dismissal
application.
The employee for Australia Post had a poor employment record
stretching back over his 20 years with the Corporation. He was
eventually summarily dismissed for three reasons:
- He refused to comply with a new policy whereby vehicles would
be loaded and unloaded using a forklift truck
- He had accepted unlabelled packages in defiance of a strict
policy for only accepting labelled packages
- He had walked outside designated walking areas.
The employee did not deny his conduct and he accepted that his
conduct was a refusal to perform specific directives given to him
by his employer. The employee had several excuses for his conduct
including that he was acting in accordance with a union ban for OHS
reasons. The employee was the OHS Representative and the Deputy
Shop Steward for the union.
