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When a casual employee's "controversial" social media post prompted her employer to end her engagement early, that constituted a dismissal, the Fair Work Commission has found in an unlawful termination dispute.

Freelance journalist Antoinette Lattouf was employed by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation for a five-day casual engagement to fill in on its 'Sydney Mornings' radio program, to begin on 18 December last year.

On Lattouf's first day, the ABC's chief content officer became aware of complaints from pro-Israel lobbyists about Lattouf being on air, and he asked a number of colleagues to ensure she wasn't making social media posts that suggested she wasn't impartial.

A couple of hours later, ABC Radio Sydney's content director spoke to Lattouf about the complaints and asked her to keep a low profile on social media or, better yet, to make no posts for the rest of the week. Lattouf agreed to keep a low profile, but noted she would still post from "reputable sources" about "facts"...