Case Law – employee awarded $1.5 million for summary dismissal

Yes…you did read this right! $1.5 million with the added twist - the employee was summarily dismissed four years ago. 

The former employee in question worked for a multinational construction company and was dismissed for alleged misconduct in July 2020. He brought his claim to the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia earlier this year, nearly four years after his dismissal stating the dismissal had “forever altered” his career path.  

At the time of his dismissal, the former employee had 17 years of continuous service and claimed his employer had acted in breach of contract by failing to give him at least three months' notice of his dismissal. While the FWC generally enforces a time limit of 21 days for a person to bring a claim related to unfair dismissal or general protections, breach of contract claims can be filed up to six years after the fact.

So, what did the employer do wrong in this case?

The alleged incident that led to his dismissal occurred in July 2020, when the employee was accused of using offensive language and this had been brought to their attention by way of a complaint. The investigation however found no evidence of a complaint and also cited a number of other flaws such as:

• lack of clarity around who made the decision and on what basis
• the employee was not provided with a fair opportunity to respond to the allegations
• lack of a thorough and independent investigation.

This case demonstrates that lack of a fair investigation can come back to bite employers several years after the fact such as the case here. To avoid this, employers should not only ensure procedural fairness in their investigations, but also maintain clear and thorough records of past investigations such as file notes, meeting minutes and any other correspondence.

This ruling is a reminder of the possible consequences of mishandled dismissals for both the employee and the employer.

If you want to ensure you have the correct policies and procedures in place to assist with the dismissal process, please contact the WR team on 07 3872 2264 or email at workplacerelations@amaq.com.au