Legal experts have raised concerns over the approach Virgin Australia has taken to monitoring staff member’s activities.
Guardian Australia filed an in-depth report on a recent Fair Work Commission case which revealed some of the methods the airline uses to keep track of its cabin crews’ behaviours while they are on stopovers.
In August the Fair work Commission overturned the sacking of a crew member named Dylan Macnish. The company had dismissed the flight attendant from his employment over two incidents where they alleged that he’d broken the company’s policies.
Firstly, they were concerned that Macnish had drunk a glass of wine at a company Christmas party when it was only seven and half hours until he was due to report to duty. The company insists that crew members do not consume alcohol for 8 hours before they work.
The second incident which led to the team member being given his marching orders, related to him breaching the company’s fatigue policy by using dating app Grindr to arrange a hook-up.
The Fair Work Commission heard that in November 2023 Macnish had asked to move from an 8am flight to Perth to another flight later in the afternoon. He said his request was due to fatigue after he was unable to sleep after a medical incident with a passenger on his flight the previous day.
The company was concerned that Macnish may have been out the previous evening, and because he had previously asked to be taken off the roster via the fatigue policy three times in the preceding three months. The company obtained swipe card date and surveillance footage from his accommodation.
They then wrote to him and informed him that he was under investigation as the footage had shown him leaving his room at 5:13am and returning with a guest five minutes later. The guest left his room at 9am.
The company terminated his employment saying he had been engaging in social activities. During the Fair Work Hearing Macnish said he had organised a casual sex connection through the dating app Grindr, and he had hoped that the physical interaction would help him get to sleep.
His dismissal was overturned by Fair Work Australia, and the airline also lost an appeal against the decision, and they have been ordered to reinstate the crew member.
While the Fair Work Decision did not address the company’s methodology of accessing CCTV footage, legal experts have questioned the company’s approach. Virgin Australia said they had obtained the footage and swipe card date legally.
Read the report at The Guardian.
