Log in or become a subscriber

Placing a collection of rubber ducks and a pentagram on a coworker's desk may have been unwise, but it wasn't malicious, the Fair Work Commission has found in unfair dismissal proceedings.

The decision to sack two employees over the prank was therefore disproportionate to the gravity of their conduct, Commissioner Chris Simpson ruled.

Both employees claimed unfair dismissal after they were summarily sacked by Queensland Venue Co in July last year.

One was a duty manager at one of the employer's venues; the other was her wife, who held a supervisor role at a separate venue.

Both were sacked after a coworker at the first venue complained about finding a display of rubber ducks and a hand-drawn pentagram on her desk...