Termination for domestic violence considered unfair

Key Points:

An employer who terminates an employee based on out-of-hours conduct needs to establish a sufficient nexus between that conduct and the workplace

A recent decision of the Full Bench of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission upheld the finding that a correctional officer had been unfairly dismissed after having been terminated following a third conviction for domestic violence.

In Public Employment Office Department of Attorney General and Justice (Corrective Services NSW) v Silling [2012] NSWIRComm 118, the Full Bench upheld the first instance decision which found that the employer had not established a sufficient nexus between the conduct and the workplace, and that the termination was disproportionate under the circumstances.