Like I said, the other day, it seems when it comes to hiring staff in Australia, you cannot win. No matter what you do. It’s why so many businesses are outsourcing.
We spoke about the sloppy gardener case. Now we have my next favorite: the porn star worker.
Well not quite. He wasn’t a porn star. But the tribunal held that sending pornographic emails to other workers didn’t necessarily mean he needed to get dismissed!
Why?
In its infinite wisdom, the Fair Work Commission said it was only misbehavior. The employee was a bit naughty but still deserved a fair chance. He shouldn’t have been sacked for it.
They did admit the employer could have sacked him if they’d done things better. If the employer had made its policies clearer and enforced them before firing the offending employee and given some fair warning, they said that would have been ok. But they hadn’t. So “pay up,” they said.
If you’re confused, join the club!
On the one hand, the media is sending a strong message of zero tolerance against pornography in the workplace or any kind of sexual harassment.
On the other hand, the employer fires a man for doing it, sends a strong message, and gets disciplined by the Fair Work Commission and told they will have to pay up for unfair dismissal!
As an employer, you would feel that you just can’t win.
You take the risk and start a business and then have some court or tribunal looking at everything you do in hindsight and telling you what you should have done.
It is very easy to sit in a castle and pass judgment on someone working in the field …
Anyway the moral of the story is when firing people, get legal advice, or else give lots of warnings and make sure they are ALWAYS in writing.
