Man gets sacked for downloading porn at work, wins $10,000 in unfair dismissal case

If you happen to have a PC or laptop that's company property, it's very likely that this piece of equipment comes with a strict set of rules.

Torrents and external downloads are usually forbidden, but one insurance manager in Australia has somehow managed to end up $10,000 richer despite the fact that he was found guilty of downloading pornography and using his work-issued laptop to store a private sex tape. The employee lost his job in January after being issued a string of verbal warnings regarding his unsatisfactory work performance. On top of these verbal warnings, the company also cited evidence that "hardcore" pornography was also on his laptop along with a personal sex tape. He didn't deny either of these allegations. How did he end up $10,000 richer? Well, during a hearing at the Fair Work Commission, he defended his actions by arguing that he only downloaded porn while he was "on a lunch break", therefore he was technically "outside work hours and work premises". Commissioner Ian Cambridge ruled that:

"In the particular circumstances of this case, the subsequently discovered misconduct involving the accessing, downloading and storage of pornographic material could not be properly held to represent valid reason for the dismissal of the applicant."

It was also stated that the legislation, regulations and internal processes that followed his sacking were "severely flawed" because they didn't provide the former insurance manager with an opportunity to respond to the reasons for his dismissal. The company was ordered to pay $10,000 in compensation.