Andrew Fisher, a fibreglass gun operator on the Gold Coast, dived into a river at Surfers Paradise to save a man whose car had ploughed through a guard rail into the water, and was sinking. While doing so he clambered oversharp, oyster covered rocks and sustained deep cuts on his feet and arms. Queensland Police even said they would recommend bravery awards for Mr Fisher and two fellow rescuers.
Mr Fisher phoned his boss to tell him he could not work that day, and was fired.
It appears the boss was suspicious because the employee was fishing at the river at 2.30am. He was apparently due to start work at 4.30am, and the boss felt he should have been in bed asleep.
But as Mr Fisher said, so long as he puts in a hard day's work, who is the employer to complain? Even if there was a legitimate issue about whether he was fully rested, to sack him unceremoniously without any real discussion is pretty tough.
One of Mr Fisher's former co-workers said the boss "is just a bloke who takes no nonsense". It appears he will get away with it too, because in Australia, there are statutory limits on the ability to claim unfair dismissal. Since the Federal WorkChoices laws were introduced in March 2006, employees in businesses with 100 or fewer employees have been unable to claim unfair dismissal. Mr Fisher's former employer apparently has only 10 workers.
The Queensland Government has received complaints about some pretty harsh dismissals since then, including a man who was dismissed for refusing to work seven days a week, because he wanted to spend at least one day every couple of weeks with his family.
Sounds like a good reason not to introduce a similar change here.
