Illustration:Dionne GainCredit:Dionne Gain
Unproductive and lazy employees exist in most businesses to some extent. Australia’s unfair dismissal laws have,on occasion,been lenient to them – except where blatant laziness is involved.
In 2019,as an employment lawyer I was involved in a case where the company won an unfair dismissal claim proving that a security guard who was often asleep and snoring in the control room,and who took a 90-minute break for every 20-minute patrol,was fairly dismissed.
In another case from 2019,the Fair Work Commission found a cleaner was fairly dismissed when he engaged in “time theft” by spending 11 hours and 26 minutes over five shifts sitting in the tearoom doing nothing while being paid.
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In December 2022,a council worker lost an appeal in the Fair Work Commission after his ute was tracked using GPS. The worker frequently went missing during the day and could not explain his absences. His laziness was found to be “egregious and contrary to his obligations as an employee”.
Lazy workers will be keenly awaitingnew workplace laws that commence in Australia on August 26. Workers will gain a statutory right to refuse to be contacted by their employer outside standard hours,if the employee feels the contact is unreasonable.
Changes to the Fair Work Act will give employees a “right to disconnect” that will include the right to apply to the industrial umpire for orders allowing them to refuse to read or respond to emails or telephone calls from their employer.