Delivery driver sacked after 30 years for stopping at KFC during lunch break

Delivery driver sacked after 30 years for stopping at KFC during lunch break The formal postal service worker lost his bid to get his job back after he swung by KFC in his work vehicle - he appealed against his dismissal to Australia's Fair Work Commission A postal service worker has lost his final bid to get his job back after he was sacked for swinging by KFC on his lunch break in his delivery van. The worker, from Newcastle, Australia, had worked for Australia Post for more than three decades before he was fired last year. He took the sacking to Australia's Fair Work Commission, claiming his dismissal was harsh and unreasonable. Alas, Fair Work did not rule in his favour. The Fair Work Commission found that Australia Post was justified in firing the man, despite his long service record with the national postal service, citing several major misconduct incidents on top of the KFC incident. The KFC incident took place on May 7, 2025. Fair Work heard the postie had swung by the fast food eatery in his delivery vehicle without permission from his supervisor while on an unauthorised hour-long break. He had been allotted a 30-minute unpaid lunch break at 10.40am. Documents did not say the time of his unauthorised lunch break, but as per Commission deputy president Tony Saunders: "[He] was required to let his supervisor know if he was taking a lunch break at a different time or location." To make matters worse, that very same day the postie also left work 30 minutes early without permission. When the man was asked where he had been on this occasion, his supervisior claimed he was rude in response. At first, the man refused to speak, before telling his supervisor he had to go 'make an appointment'. The supervisor then questioned: "Why are you trying to be...." but then was apparently interrupted by the seemingly disgruntled postie, who offered "Evasive?" His supervisor agreed, describing it as the "perfect word". Australia Post told the Fair Work Commission the postie had also told the supervisor he planned to retire soon so he planned to "have some fun for the next two years". The national postal service alleged that that fun involved "playing games" with Australia Post as well as and ignoring his superiors and supervisors. In just one month, the man managed to rack up an eye watering nine unexplained absences. He also ignored 17 messages from his managers. "He said he thought the text messages might have been a scam, but ...[he] could not give a satisfactory explanation as to why he did not simply call his workplace to check whether the text messages were genuine," Mr Saunders said. It is unknown why these weren't dismissed by the Fair Work Commission, as Australian law has protected workers from adverse actions like dismissal or demotions such as this since August 26, 2024, under the nation's Right to Disconnect laws, which allow employees to refuse to engage with employers outside their designated shift times in some circumstances. The Commission deputy president found that while the worker may struggle to find another job given his age and long employment with Australia Post, the postal service was justified in firing him due to the "grave nature" of his misconduct. "A meaningful employment relationship cannot exist when an employee demonstrates an ongoing failure and refusal to co-operate with their employer," Mr Saunders said. The man also presented medical certificates to Fair Work which showed he had been diagnosed with an "acute stress reaction" due to interactions with his employer. Australia Post claimed it had responded to the diagnosis by reducing the his workload and time pressure. Ultimately, the Fair Work Commission ruled in favour of Australia Post - the company has since stated that it welcomes the ruling by Australia's Fair Work Commission.