Employee wins payout over unfair dismissal despite pornographic material and driving breaches
An employee sacked for serious misconduct – including distributing pornographic material at work and committing driving offences in company vehicles – has been awarded nearly $7,000 in compensation after the Fair Work Commission (FWC) found his dismissal was procedurally unfair.
In the recent decision, the FWC considered whether the dismissal of Mr Thomas by his employer, Bin Boy Environmental Pty Ltd (Bin Boy), was harsh, unjust or unreasonable.
A driver at te company, MR Thomas engaged in several forms of objectionable conduct during his employment, including placing pornographic material into other drivers’ trays in a staff area.
On top of this, he was hit with two speeding fines while driving company vehicles, at a time when he was already subject to a 12‑month good behaviour bond for excessive demerit points, was texting while driving company vehicles, and complained about safety communications in a workplace group chat used to notify employees of safety issues.
On 13 November 2025, Bin Boy dismissed Mr Thomas for serious misconduct, effective immediately. The termination letter, however, did not set out the specific allegations against him, referring only to “a review of recent incidents and your conduct.”
At hearing, the FWC accepted that all of the conduct alleged by Bin Boy had in fact occurred. The Commission also found that distributing pornographic material in the...
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