Darts dispute leads to bar manager’s dismissal

An altercation during a game of darts manifested into ongoing arguments between a bar manager and her employer, leading to an unfair dismissal case.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) recently dealt with an unfair dismissal application put forward by a former bar manager at Bunbury Football Club in Western Australia.

The unrestricted manager was as employed by the footy club on a casual basis to work in its bar operations. Back on 6 August 2024, the Bunbury Bulldogs darts team was hosting a match as part of a wider competition constructed by the Leschenault Ladies Darts Association.

As the match was ongoing, a Bunbury Bulldogs player removed some darts from the dartboard before the score could be counted. This led to an altercation between the bar manager and her colleague Vanessa French – another bar manager – who was participating in the darts match for the Bunbury Bulldogs.

The day after the altercation, the bar manager reported the situation by completing an incident report and notifying the Department of Racing, Gaming and Liquor, an external adviser, and the Bunbury Bulldogs darts committee.

On 8 August, French attempted to discuss the altercation with the bar manager over the phone; however, the bar manager refused to oblige, requesting that the conversation occur face to face.

The following day, the bar manager attended work. With French arriving shortly after, she informed the bar manager that she was not needed that evening, which led to an argument between the two, culminating in French informing the bar manager that her services were no longer needed. The bar manager was requested to hand over her keys to the club.

On 10 August, the president of the Bunbury Football Club, Tom Busher, called the bar manager, confirming that she would no longer be working at the club. Busher also relayed to the FWC during the hearing that French did indeed have the authority to dismiss someone.

Later that same day, the bar manager sent correspondence to Busher disputing the dismissal and requesting to be reinstated immediately.

On 16 September 2024, the bar manager received a letter from Busher, which set out steps the club had taken in response to the incident report. The letter also stated: “It is clear from your correspondence (that includes multiple allegations and complaints) that it isn’t tenable for you to continue in any capacity at the Bunbury Football Club.”

The bar manager filed an unfair dismissal application on 30 September 2024; however due to her dismissal taking place on 10 August 2024, the period of 21 days – which the application must be filed in – ended at midnight on 31 August 2024.

An application for extended time was listed to commence, yet the bar manager failed to respond to correspondence from the FWC and the club, resulting in her missing the hearing altogether.

The bar manager’s reasoning for being late with her application was that she was unaware of the 21-day time frame, an excuse that was not accepted by commissioner Phillip Ryan.

Ryan was satisfied that there were no exceptional circumstances to allow an extension of time for the application. Therefore, the application was dismissed.