For Shaun Boyce, his unfair dismissal claim was about correcting “the record”. Shaun worked as a Garbage Collector for Ikon Administration Pty Ltd. He was blamed for instructing his colleague and driver to take an illegal short cut through a taxi rank, causing substantial damage to the Company’s Truck, when the driver drove over a concrete bollard near Melbourne’s Crown Casino. The driver reported that Shaun had “instructed” him to take the short cut. Shaun denied this. The employer believed the driver. Shaun’s employment was terminated, and the driver received a warning. STAL Employment Lawyers stood up with Shaun, and he succeeded, the Commission finding his dismissal unfair.
At his unfair dismissal hearing, Shaun argued that he did not instruct the driver of the truck to take the short cut and his supervisor was informed of the incident. He also disputed a previous warning relied upon by his employer.
The employer conducted what could only be described as a hasty investigation, when it “presumed” that just because Shaun admitted to taking the short cut in the past, that he must have also instructed the driver, who had started at the company after Shaun. The employer also alleged that Shaun “offered to resign” however two managers gave different evidence about this issue. Shaun claimed his employer invited him to resign.
For his conduct, the driver received a warning, yet Shaun’s employment was terminated.
The Commission agreed with Shaun, finding that the investigation was poor, that it could not be established that Shaun instructed the driver to take the short cut, nor that he failed to follow any correct reporting procedure. The Commission limited Shaun’s culpability in respect of the truck damage to his “participatory conduct” as a passenger. On balance, the driver’s conduct was more culpable than Shaun’s by reason that he was the driver of the vehicle. The driver also had more driving experience than Shaun.
Shaun was awarded compensation for loss of earnings.
STAL Employment Lawyers are pleased to have assisted Shaun in standing up against his unfair treatment.
The full decision of the decision of Shaun Boyce v IKON Administrations Pty Ltd [2019] FWC 4763 can be found at https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/decisionssigned/html/2019fwc4763.htm