In Delgado v Virgin Australia Airlines Pty Ltd [2011] FWA 5595, Virgin sacked an employee on the grounds that (1) she had abused the company's 'friends and family' free flight benefits scheme by charging a $50 'booking fee' to her friend and (2) had stolen two bottles of wine during a flight.
The company's policy was that employees should not derive a personal benefit from the free flights scheme and that "where deception is involved it could lead to dismissal".
FWA was not satisfied that the allegations of stealing were well-founded and therefore they could not properly justify dismissal. However, it concluded that the Applicant had not only abused the travel scheme but had also lied about receiving the 'fee'.
It said that it was not the mere receipt of the 'fee' that justified the dismissal (the Applicant could have admitted the conduct and possibly escaped dismissal). It was the fact that she had lied about receiving it. Therefore, the wording of the policy allowed the dismissal even if the reason given by the airline was not squarely on that basis. Dishonesty was enough. And, whenever there is dishonesty, it is usually a legitimate reason for dismissal whether or not there is a policy expressly forbidding it.
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