An employee has walked away approximately $10,000 richer after being dismissed via SMS. Now that's an expensive text.

A casual employee swapped a shift with a co-worker. Then she turned up an hour late, and during that time, some items of clothing were stolen from the store. The employer wasn't happy. So a couple of days later – without discussing the matter with the employee – he shot off an SMS:

"Sedina, I have let you go for two reasons. Firstly you shouldn't swap the shift without letting me know. Secondly you even swap the shift you start one hour late knowing it will be busy and leaving Ivanna alone. That shows me you not taking me serious or the work. Which hurts me enough and you can pick your pay tomorrow and drop the key. You don't need to call me and I don't see that we can work together. This decision is made by Robert and I. Thank you for everything."

The employee filed an unfair dismissal application with Fair Work Australia (FWA).

But she's a casual, I hear you say. Not so fast. Just calling an employee a "casual" does not make them so. FWA ultimately accepted that she had worked regularly and systematically for 2 years and had an expectation of ongoing work. So she was eligible to bring a claim.

FWA held that depriving an employee of an opportunity to respond was unfair. The Court also said "Consequently, if dismissal is implemented by an means other than face-to-face communication, both the legal and ethical basis for the decision to dismiss is likely to face strong and successful challenge..." Indeed, this is not the first time FWA has been critical of using SMS as a termination tool. In an earlier decision, FWA made clear that terminating an employee by SMS would be "a factor indicative of unfairness".

Convenient? Yes. A good way to avoid an unfair dismissal application? No.

In defending any unfair dismissal claim, being able to demonstrate that the employee has been provided an opportunity to respond is key. To that end, old school communications like face to face discussions and written correspondence remain the way to go.

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