She lowered a roller door mid-theft, then lost her job. The tribunal saw it differently
A liquor retailer sacked a 17-year employee for lowering a roller door during a store theft. The tribunal called it harsh and ordered her job back.
In a decision handed down on July 31, 2026, the Fair Work Commission found that Endeavour Group Limited - the drinks retailer behind the BWS chain - had no valid reason to dismiss a long-serving worker at one of its Tasmanian stores. It ordered her reinstated, with her service intact.
The worker had spent about 17 years with the business. In her final months, the store was hit by a run of "swarming" thefts, where a group storms in, grabs stock and bolts. She counted 16 theft-related incidents between June 2025 and January 2026. Her own manager accepted it "wasn't a fun place to work at for a period of time."
The incident that ended her job happened on January 9, 2026. Three offenders came in and loaded bags with liquor. From near the exit, the worker began lowering the front roller door and, by her own account, told them "words to the effect of 'leave the store now, we are closing, go.'" As one offender left, he threw a bottle that struck a colleague in the thigh.
The employer treated the door-lowering as serious misconduct. It said the worker had breached its code of conduct, its safety policy and its "Responding to Theft" training module, and it pointed to a "first and final warning" she had been given in August 2025, after she grabbed an...
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