A pool supplies business in Sydney summarily
dismissed its general manager for going “behind their back”, making disparaging
comments about the business and “betraying the business”. Entram Pty Ltd
accused its general manager of preventing a sale of business and breaching his
implied duties to act in good faith.
Judge Shenagh Barnes of the Federal Circuit Court
accepted the employee’s conduct amounted to misconduct; however, it was not
found to warrant serious misconduct and, therefore, summary dismissal.
As a consequence, the employer was ordered to
pay $30,283 in damages for failing to provide the employee with notice of
termination.
For an employer, the key difference between
terminating an employee for misconduct versus serious misconduct will be the
provision of notice.
An employee who commits serious misconduct
can be terminated on the spot and the employer will not be required to provide
notice of termination.
An employee who is dismissed for misconduct
must be provided notice of termination. They can be directed to work out their
notice period or paid in lieu of notice, at the employer discretion.
As demonstrated by Jeavons v Entram Pty Ltd [2015] FCCA 3457 the consequences of summarily
dismissing an employee for misconduct can be significant. Although the employee
was terminated in June 2012, a judgment was not handed down until December
2015, meaning the business was in legal limbo for three and a half years.
To protect your business and insure yourself
against such penalties, speak to one of Nevett Ford’s workplace relations team
members on (03) 9614 7111 about the right way to terminate an employee for
misconduct and serious conduct.
