Termination of employment – misconduct – s.394 Fair Work Act 2009 – application for unfair dismissal remedy – applicant was a storeman at manufacturing plant – alleged to have committed continued safety breaches and issued with final formal warning for the unsafe operation of a forklift – final warning stated further breaches will result in termination – applicant dismissed after investigation into an incident at work – investigation concluded that applicant breached a 10kph speed limit on car park roadway and was driving in an unsafe manner – no continuity in nature of breach leading to final warning and that which led to dismissal – final warning itself not held as a valid reason for dismissal – Commission held that respondent blinded itself to possibility that termination for breach would be a harsh outcome – applicant denied opportunity to respond – dismissal unreasonable as other employees had breached the Code of Conduct in the same way without the same penalty being imposed – Commission found level of the breach did not warrant dismissal in the circumstances – dismissal, harsh, unjust and unfair – satisfied reinstatement as storeman appropriate remedy – reinstatement and restoration of lost pay ordered. Stephenson v Patties Foods Ltd
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