Tradie 'forced' to quit job after boss swears at him in secretly recorded meeting: 'No choice'
The Fair Work Commission has found a tradie was “forced to resign” from his job after his employer swore at him during a secretly recorded meeting about his performance. A workplace lawyer said the issue “cuts both ways” with both employees and employers potentially able to take action if they face swearing at work.
Commissioner Susie Allison found that while swearing was likely to be a part of the “everyday work culture” of the tradie’s employer, Melbourne small business DMG Building & Electrical Services, the language and behaviour directed at him were “not appropriate or acceptable behaviour in any workplace”. She said the worker was “reasonably concerned for his mental and physical safety” and had no “real choice” but to resign.
McCabes Lawyers principal Tim McDonald told Yahoo Finance the case raised issues for both employees and employers.
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“This sort of issue cuts both ways. It’s a precedent in the sense that if there is swearing and so forth, yes, an employee can be entitled to take it that that type of behaviour can force them to resign,” he said.
“But on the flip side of the coin, it would also be the case that if a worker was engaging in that type of behaviour then it would be reasonable for the employer to treat it as a valid reason to terminate the employee.”
McDonald said the decision suggested the “standards of behaviour” had changed and what might have been acceptable in the past was no longer acceptable today.
“It doesn’t really matter what industry you’re in, and even if you’re in the construction industry what might have been okay 20 years ago, may not be the same,” he said.
What happened in the tradie’s case?
The tradie had started working at DMG Building & Electrical Services in September, 2024.
The commission heard the DMG director had raised concerns about the tradie’s work levels, along with his undertaking of religious prayer during work hours without informing the company.
The worker alleged there was a series of discussions where his boss swore. That included discussions over the worker using his personal phone to contact clients and a vehicle reversing into his company van while he was at a mosque.
The worker made a secret recording of his performance meeting with the director in November, where the director raised his voice and swore at him.
The boss raised concerns that the worker was “self-absorbed” and “not a team player”, and said his not revealing he was taking time off to pray was “deceitful”.
