Carpenter facing court for sacking threat over sick leave request

An employer is facing court after allegedly committing multiple contraventions, including allegedly failing to pay minimum wages and threatening an apprentice after a sick leave request was made.

A sole trading carpenter faces penalties of up to $8,259 for allegedly failing to comply with an April 2023 compliance notice and $16,500 each for multiple alleged pay slip and adverse action contraventions.

It is seeking an order to comply with a Compliance Notice issued to Stubbs in April 2023 to calculate and rectify any outstanding entitlements, plus superannuation and interest.

The Fair Work Ombudsman alleged that a Geelong-based carpenter failed to provide two 18-year-old workers’ entitlements, including minimum wages for ordinary hours, public holiday and leave entitlements under the Building and Construction General On-site Award 2020, and the National Employment Standards (NES), and also alleged that the carpenter had breached pay slip laws.

It also alleged that on the morning of 19 January 2023, one of these workers allegedly messaged the carpenter that he was unwell and could not work that day on the social media platform Snapchat, after which the carpenter allegedly threatened not to pay the apprentice for a week if he took that day off, and to terminate his employment if he took personal leave in the future.

The ombudsman became aware of these alleged contraventions after the two workers reached out to it to seek assistance.

“[The carpenter] breached the Fair Work Act by taking adverse action against the apprentice for exercising or proposing to exercise his workplace right to take personal leave,” the ombudsman said.

Acting Fair Work Ombudsman Rachel Volzke said: “Sick leave is a fundamental lawful entitlement …. Workers have a right to access their leave entitlements without negative consequences.”

“Employers should also be aware that taking action to protect employees who may be vulnerable, such as young workers, and improving compliance in the building and construction industry are priorities for the Fair Work Ombudsman.”

The matter is listed for a directions hearing in the Federal Circuit and Family Court in Melbourne on 21 May 2026.

Carlos Tse

Carlos Tse is a graduate journalist writing for Accountants Daily, HR Leader, Lawyers Weekly.

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