b'CASE LAW POLICY TRAININGIn Ramlan Abdul Samad v Phosphate Resources Ltd T/A Christmas IslandPhosphates [2024] FWC 2868What happened: A 62-year-old truck driver with 20 years work history at Christmas Island Phosphates (CIP) wasdismissed for serious misconduct after repeatedly making offensive comments and gestures towarda colleague, including accusing him of sucking the bosss dick and saying he couldnt take a joke.CIP held that the employee breached its code of conduct, anti-discrimination and harassmentprocedure and psychosocial safety and standards of behaviour policies. The driver claimed he wasunaware of these policies, one of which had only been covered in a brief toolbox talk. There was noevidence the other 3 had been trained. Deputy President OKeeffe criticised this as a tick and flickexercise and said the process was not conducive to explaining serious workplace behaviouralrequirements particularly where language barriers may exist.He found the employee had not received proper, culturally appropriate training and noted thedrivers remorse was poorly conveyed and mixed with attempts to shift blame.Outcome: Deputy President OKeeffe found that Practical Implementation/Learnings: while there was a valid reason for the truckdrivers dismissal due to his reprehensible 1.Policy training must be meaningful, not superficial:conduct, the dismissal was ultimately harsh A brief toolbox talk and leaving printed material isand unjust. unlikely to meet the standard for effectivelyKey factors influencing this finding communicating serious workplace policies.included: Employers should adopt more engaging, interactiveThe employees 20 years of service with methods of training that cover both the contentno prior disciplinary issues, and rationale of policies.His age (62) and limited employment 2.Documentation matters: Employers should keepprospects, and clear records of who attended training, what wasA lack of proper training and covered, and how understanding was assessed.understanding of the workplace policies This becomes vital when defending dismissalhe was accused of breaching. decisions that rely on alleged policy breaches.He concluded: There is the issue of [his] 3.Cultural and language considerations are essential:lack of exposure to and understanding of Where employees come from diverse cultural orthe policies cited in his termination linguistic backgrounds, policy training must bedocumentation. accessible and tailored to their comprehensionneeds. I believe this adds an element of injustice 4.Unawareness of policies can render dismissalto the termination. As a result, the matter harsh: Even if misconduct occurred, if the employerwas referred to a conference to determine cannot demonstrate that the employee wasan appropriate remedy. adequately informed of the relevant policies, thedismissal may be found harsh, especially for long-serving employees with no prior disciplinary issues.Page | 31 IR Update July 2025'