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An employee who breached the confidentiality of his own show-cause process while he was "overcome with emotion" has lost his appeal against proposed disciplinary action.

The senior administration and paralegal officer for the Public Trustee of Queensland was facing a show-cause process in June last year, after being accused of improperly accessing data in the employer's customer information management system (CIMS).

Subsequently, his employer alleged he contravened its direction to keep that process confidential, and it later substantiated this allegation along with two regarding the system breaches, determining it had grounds for disciplinary action under Queensland's Public Sector Act.

The employee lodged an appeal against that decision. He didn't deny the conduct occurred, but argued he had a "reasonable excuse" for acting as he did, and he also claimed he had been targeted due to his role as a union delegate...