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Sacking upheld for employee "intent on having it out" with annoying colleague
An employee who threw a coffee cup "with significant force" after a colleague called him a "boofhead" has failed to convince the Fair Work Commission his conduct was a result of provocation.
It was astonishing that the employer didn't act earlier to discipline the colleague, said Commissioner Jennifer Hunt, finding it was aware he was a "class clown" and "social nuisance".
Nonetheless, she stated: "One cannot engage in physical violence in the workplace because a colleague annoys them."
BHP had employed the pump crew operator since 2013, but sacked him in January 2024 for breaching its code of conduct...
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