A FORKLIFT driver who was sacked from a Laverton North warehouse has won back his job and $11,000 in compensation after almost 12 months away from work.
Fair Work Australia (FWA) found worker Cong Nguyen’s dismissal by Metcash IGA was unfair, after he was wrongly accused of deliberately colliding with another forklift and fired in September last year.
The National Union of Workers (NUW) took up the case of Mr Nguyen, who speaks English as a second language and was not given access to an interpreter when interviewed by Metcash IGA about the alleged incident.
In March this year, the FWA decided Mr Nguyen was unfairly dismissed and he could return to work, but Metcash IGA appealed this decision.
However last week, the FWA confirmed that Mr Nguyen was unfairly dismissed and ordered his return to work on 12 September.
The FWA criticised Metcash IGA for failing to take Mr Nguyen’s linguistic situation into account when investigating the incident which led to his dismissal.
In the original decision, the FWA Commissioner concluded there was no valid reason for Mr Nguyen’s dismissal, although “the collision was caused by his recklessness and carelessness, he had not deliberately hit the other forklift”.
“In this case Mr Nguyen felt pressured to make up time he had lost. He was concerned that he might be given a warning and he was frustrated at the delays,” the FWA decision read.
The Commissioner said Mr Nguyen had served 23 years with the company without any history of forklift accidents or disciplinary action and Mr Nguyen “had not denied his fault in the collision and had expressed remorse for it”.
Mr Nguyen will also receive more than $11,000 in compensation from Metcash IGA.
NUW Victorian Branch Secretary Tim Kennedy said the case highlighted the importance of access to unfair dismissal laws.
