No smiley emoji, no job for QLD café worker
The Fair Work Commission has found that a Queensland café worker was unfairly dismissed for failing to use a smiley face emoji when texting senior staff about rostering.
The café supervisor was fired by Sens Catering Group, which runs Sens Coffee, after she raised concerns about the weekend relocation of staff to the company’s new, better-performing café.
With the loss of staff, the supervisor suggested a new staff member was required to cover understaffing.
The business owners failed to agree and fired her, however Fair Work Commissioner Chris Simpson concluded the supervisor was "merely trying to express a view as to what would be in the best interests of the business in regard to staffing across the two venues".
"The evidence does not support a conclusion that the Applicant refused to follow a lawful and reasonable direction and there is nothing else to support a conclusion that her actions constituted a valid reason for dismissal," he wrote on Monday.
Evidence was given by a co-worker, who claimed that when the message was sent the general manager at the time said "fire her right now!!"
"Hire another supervisor I don't care about the cost, do it now!," she said.
The GM apparently took offence to the lack of emotion and ‘unfriendliness’ in the message and was heard repeatedly saying the supervisor "didn't add any smiley faces! There are no emotions!" The GM then tried to convince another staff member to take on the supervisor’s role.
The general manager claimed she was instructed by the owners to fire anyone who didn’t agree with them.
A week later the former supervisor was offered two weeks paid leave and a position running a new store. She declined the offer.
During the hearing it came to light that the supervisor had been consistently encouraged to resign.
The café owner did not consider the dismissal unfair due to the offer of paid leave and the prospect of another position.
The commissioner found that the offers were mere "attempts to resolve the dispute about the earlier dismissal".
The supervisor who was undergoing a fertility program at the time, had a "significant financial impact" and the dismissal affected her ability to continue with the program.
The commissioner said lost wages would have equated to about $14,300 in earnings, however ordered the business to pay compensation of $5,350, after deducting casual earnings shifts and a short-term job found after she was fired.
Irit Jackson, 14th July 2022
