A tyre-shop walkout gave HR a clear warning: next-day silence can matter as much as the confrontation itself.
The Fair Work Commission has dismissed an unfair dismissal claim in Luke Van Doorn v Toffy Pty Limited [2026] FWC 538, finding the worker was not dismissed after leaving the workplace during a heated exchange. The decision was issued on June 10, 2026.
For HR leaders, the case is a practical reminder that walkouts should be handled carefully, especially when they follow a dispute about work pace, safety concerns or training expectations. The central issue was not whether the workplace conversation was ideal. It was whether the employment ended because the employer dismissed the worker, or because the worker’s own conduct showed he would not return.
Van Doorn worked full time as an assistant manager for Toffy Pty Limited, a small mechanical and tyre-fitting business. He had also started an apprenticeship toward a Certificate III in Light Vehicle Mechanical Technology, with practical training components conducted during paid work hours.
He claimed he was dismissed on December 2, 2025, because he would not agree to work faster at what he considered an unsafe pace, and because he did not comply with a manager’s direction to complete apprenticeship training in his own time. The employer denied dismissing him and said he had “voluntarily abandoned his employment.”
Commissioner Matheson accepted that company director Chris Tofalakis had, in substance, asked Van Doorn to...
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