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An employee was sacked for using a derogatory term he'd never heard of, based on the evidence of a coworker with a "dead-set agenda" against him, the Fair Work Commission has found.

Making findings that were highly critical of the workplace investigation, Commissioner Jennifer Hunt also noted the employer proceeded with termination despite unfair dismissal warnings from its employee relations team.

BHP subsidiary OS MCAP notified the fly-in, fly-out production operator about misconduct allegations in April 2025, warning that he might be dismissed for breaching BHP's code of conduct.

Specifically, it said an investigation found that while at a bus stop in September 2024, the employee had bullied and harassed a coworker, calling him "unhinged" or "mentally unstable"...