An ex-employee that fraudulently overstated his working hours has had his unfair dismissal claim denied after his employer demonstrated he was dismissed in accordance with the Fair Dismissal Code.

The employer, a wood flooring manufacturer, dismissed the carpenter without notice after the company’s bookkeeper discovered evidence that he had overstated the hours worked in timesheets.

It was proved to Commissioner Michelle Bissett that the employer repeatedly met with the employee to raise concerns about and rectify the timesheets from March 2010.  

In November, the employer found timesheets indicating that the employee had not taken meal breaks during a period of work when it was undeniable he had, and asked him to come in for a meeting to discuss the discrepancy.

The employee replied via text message that he was too sick to come in to work or attend the meeting.

Later, another employee revealed that the employee in question had urgent private work to carry out, so the employer hired a private investigator to contact him, posing as a potential client.

The employer then sent a representative to the employee's home and told him he was being dismissed and asked him to return his keys to the company factory.

Later that day, a follow-up email advised him that his employment had been terminated for "falsifying timesheets and failure to attend work while conducting private business".

Commissioner Bissett said there was no question falsifying the time sheets was a matter of theft that might justify summary dismissal and that the employer had reasonable grounds for believing it was occurring.

However, Commissioner Bissett noted that the employee had not had a support person with him during the meetings with the employer to discuss the timesheets.

"The Code requires that ‘the employee can have another person present’. There is nothing to suggest that the [employee] sought and was denied the opportunity to have another person present," she said.

Evidence was also taken into account that the employer had warned the employee about the timesheets and that it completed the Code checklist.

The employer had sought information about the steps it should take in dismissal situations, Commissioner Bisset said, and "is to be applauded for its efforts in talking to those it considers more knowledgeable in this area".

Commissioner Bissett found the employer had reasonable grounds to believe the employee was defrauding the company by falsifying timesheets.

Commissioner Bissett ruled that the dismissal complied with the Fair Dismissal Code and on that basis rejected the employee's claim.    

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