Establishing policies in the workplace is vital to any business as they reinforce company expectations and procedures. They demonstrate the standards a company sets in relation to employee behaviour in the workplace. Having effective workplace policies in place has been proven to protect an employer, as was evident in the case of Martin Brett v Transit Australia Pty Ltd [2022] FWC 2278.
Martin Brett, an employee of Transit Australia, filed for unfair dismissal in the Fair Work Commission (FWC) when he was dismissed due to serious misconduct.
Transit Australia were successful in defending the dismissal. A number of factors protected Transit Australia including one of the most important tools a workplace can have – policies in place for employees. Policies set out acceptable and unacceptable standards of behaviour in the workplace and provide clarity to employees. Without such policies in place, Transit Australia may not have been successful in defending the termination.
The Background
Martin Brett was a bus driver for Transit Australia. Three unaccompanied children tried to get on the bus he was driving and he refused them entry for a number of reasons, including they were unaccompanied by an adult and they had no money to pay the bus fare. He told the children they would have to find another way to get to their location and he also threatened to call the police when conversations were escalating. He had also noticed that one of the children was hiding a metal rod. He then decided to close the doors on the bus and the metal rod was thrown in the bus driver’s direction.
It was found that Mr Brett disregarded the workplace policies of “Leave no child behind” and the company’s Code of Conduct whereby you cannot leave any children behind no matter what the circumstances are. Mr Brett was dismissed due to serious misconduct.
When CCTV footage and submissions were studied, it was found that Mr Brett did not abide by his workplace policies and procedures. It was also found that he acted in a manner that went against the values of the company which in turn had aggravated one of the children to throw the metal rod. Mr Brett had argued that he was in danger because of the metal rod and that is the reason why he didn’t let the children on the bus. This is also the defence he took in relation to his workplace policies; that they are ineffective if you feel you are in danger.
The FWC had assessed the policies and found that they were reasonable in their nature and his dismissal was valid.
Our advice to employers:
- Ensure you have robust policies in place that are regularly reviewed
- Educate staff on these policies and ensure they are readily available to all staff
- Operate against these policies consistently to demonstrate the expectations are clear and enforceable.
If you would like advice on putting policies in place and ensuring that they are compliant with workplace laws, please contact us at Effective Workplace Solutions
Greg Arnold – Director & Principal Consultant
Disclaimer: This article provides a summary only of the subject matter without the assumption of a duty of care by Effective Workplace Solutions. No person should rely on the contents as a substitute for legal of other professional advice.