The employer argued credibility, but the tribunal wasn't convinced

A South Australian truck driver was sacked for serious misconduct and still walked away with workers' compensation. Here is what led to that decision.

Peter Russell drove concrete agitator trucks for Premix Pty Ltd. In mid-February 2022, he felt a painful popping sensation in his lower left back while shifting a heavy concrete pump hose on a job site. On 31 March 2022, he stepped backwards off his truck onto uneven ground, jarring his back again and spraining his left ankle.

He told no one at Premix. Fearing he would lose his job, Russell paid for chiropractic treatment out of pocket, scaled back his heavier duties, and kept driving. He did, however, report both incidents to his treating practitioners while still working, consulting chiropractor Dr James Rennie from about a week after the February incident, and reporting to his GP Dr Harikla Tsokkos in mid-March 2022. It was only on 6 April 2022, the day he was dismissed, that he first raised the injuries with his employer.

The termination had nothing to do with the injuries. CCTV from inside his truck captured Russell using his mobile phone while driving on multiple occasions, breaching road rules and his employment contract. He had already admitted it to a company owner, Frank Femia, the day before the formal disciplinary meeting. At that meeting on 6 April, he admitted it again, acknowledged his error of judgement, apologised, and said it would not...

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