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A technology company has been slammed with a compensation payout after the Fair Work Commission ruled that firing an employee for raising concerns over unpaid and missing superannuation contributions is not a valid reason for dismissal.
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) has ordered a Sydney-based technology company to pay a former employee nearly $20,000, ruling that the reason given for his dismissal was unjustified and not a fair basis for termination.
In a decision handed down last week, commissioner Redford found that D365.Global unfairly dismissed project manager Saiyam Midha shortly after he raised concerns about unpaid wages and missing superannuation contributions.
After seven months working in a remote role, the former employee’s position came to an abrupt end on 1 May this year, when during a meeting with the company director he told him, “we have reached the end of the road”.
The meeting that led to Midha’s termination was scheduled shortly after he had raised concerns with the director earlier that day about missing wages and unpaid superannuation.
The judgment revealed that despite raising the issue of unpaid superannuation with the company director on two separate occasions, the former employee received no response.
Midha also claimed that the technology company stopped paying his fortnightly salary for the period ending 30 April 2025, and despite sending two emails to the director that same day, he received no reply.
Rather than addressing his concerns during the meeting, the company director told him that his “work does not reflect the professional experience or skills and competencies described in my resume” and accused him of not working 40 hours per week.
These comments came despite the employee never having received any prior warning or feedback about his performance before being terminated.
Despite repeated efforts by the FWC to contact them, D365.Global failed to attend the hearings, neglected to file a required document, and ignored directions to submit evidence.
Redford found that there was a clear “temporal connection” between when Midha raised complaints about his unpaid entitlements and his subsequent termination from the company, ruling that he was unfairly dismissed.
The commissioner also determined that the company didn’t have a valid reason to dismiss Midha based on his “capacity or conduct”, finding that criticisms of his skills and competencies were “not justified and there had been no issues previously raised”.
With reinstatement considered “inappropriate” and not requested by Midha, the commissioner ordered D365.Global to pay nearly $18,500 in compensation for three months’ wages and superannuation, along with an extra $2,215.30 in super contributions, to be paid within 14 days.
RELATED TERMS
An employee is a person who has signed a contract with a company to provide services in exchange for pay or benefits. Employees vary from other employees like contractors in that their employer has the legal authority to set their working conditions, hours, and working practises.
When a company terminates an employee's job for improper or illegitimate reasons, it is known as an unfair dismissal.
