Termination of employment – misconduct – reinstatement – s.394 Fair Work Act 2009 – application for relief from unfair dismissal – applicant employed as security guard – was dismissed because he left the site at which he was working without authority – Darwin Alcohol Assessment Treatment Services (DAATS) – applicant agreed to work additional shift from 8.00am to 6.00pm – around 5.30pm the applicant left DAATS and shortly thereafter presented to work for another security company at another location – respondent sent applicant letter of allegations in relation to the time he left his shift at DAATS, the times he put on his time sheet for work that day and his working for another security company without permission – applicant called to meeting to respond to allegations – ‘show cause’ letter – in response applicant stated he was sorry and sad that he had let respondent down, promised it would not happen again – he had a wife and child who relied on him, had no other income and would have trouble surviving in Darwin if he did not have a job – expressed regret for the incident – Commission found no basis on which applicant could have assumed it was acceptable to leave the workplace without permission – satisfied that MSS Security Officer Standing Instructions formed part of the applicant’s contract of employment – Standing Instructions prohibit employment with another security company without permission of respondent – found applicant engaged in misconduct – aggregation of issues provided valid reason for dismissal – Commission weighed the existence of a valid reason for dismissal against the impact of that dismissal – satisfied dismissal was harsh – applicant unfairly dismissed – applicant sought reinstatement – loss of trust and confidence [Perkins] – Commission satisfied employment relationship could be re-established – reinstatement with continuity of employment and lost pay equivalent to eight weeks’ pay less any amount earned ordered. Sunder v MSS Security P/L
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