Employee contests firing after customer incident escalates to physical confrontation
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) recently dismissed an unfair dismissal application from a railway porter who was terminated following a violent incident between a customer and security guard.
The worker argued his dismissal was unfair as his conduct did not breach company policies, or if policies were breached, dismissal was a disproportionate response to the circumstances.
The case arose when the porter failed to open fare gates for two young customers seeking to exit, leading to an escalation that resulted in a physical altercation between one customer and a privately contracted security guard.
The railway authority argued this incident represented another failure to discharge fundamental porter duties despite extensive retraining and previous disciplinary action.
The porter was employed by the railway authority from November 2016, working at a major train station since June 2020.
His role required contributing to station efficiency, attending to customer requirements, and assisting in providing a safe environment.
The position description emphasised that opening fare gates to maintain customer flow was critical to reduce customer-related incidents.
The employer's training highlighted that porters must open fare gates to allow customers to enter or exit, with fare collection not being a porter responsibility.
Porters were required to ask...
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