Australia Post employee of 30 years who was sacked after 30-minute visit to KFC loses appeal

• An Australia Post worker was fired last year
• He visited KFC on an unauthorised break

A former Australia Post worker has lost his bid to get his job back after he visited a KFC in his delivery van.

The worker, from Newcastle, spent more than 30 years working for the postal service but was fired last year.

He took his case to the Fair Work Commission, claiming his dismissal was harsh and unreasonable.

However, the commission has ruled Australia Post was justified in firing the worker, citing several major misconduct incidents.

The most unusual was the worker's unapproved visit to a KFC on May 7, 2025, during an hour that he disappeared from his shift, documents seen by Daily Mail show.

He'd used his Australia Post vehicle to stop at the fast food outlet, without permission from his supervisor.

The postie had been allotted a 30-minute unpaid lunch break at 10.40am.

'[He] was required to let his supervisor know if he was taking a lunch break at a different time or location,' commission deputy president Tony Saunders said.

That same day, the driver also left work 30 minutes early, again without permission. 

A supervisor claimed the worker was rude when asked where he'd been. He'd first refused to speak, then told the supervisor to 'make an appointment'.

The supervisor asked, 'Why are you trying to be -' but was interrupted by the worker who offered 'Evasive?', which the supervisor described as the 'perfect word'.

Australia Post claimed the worker had also told the supervisor he planned to retire soon so he planned to 'have some fun for the next two years'. 

The postal service said that 'fun' involved 'playing games' with the company and ignoring his superiors.

In just one month, the worker racked up 19 unexplained absences and ignored 17 messages from managers.

'He said he thought the text messages might have been a scam, but ...[he] could not give a satisfactory explanation as to why he did not simply call his workplace to check whether the text messages were genuine,' Mr Saunders said.

The worker presented medical certificates to the commission which showed he had been diagnosed with an 'acute stress reaction'.

Australia Post had responded to the diagnosis by reducing the employee's workload and time pressure.

Mr Saunders found that while the worker may struggle to find another job given his age and long employment with Australia Post, the postal service was justified in firing him due to the 'grave nature' of his misconduct. 

'A meaningful employment relationship cannot exist when an employee demonstrates an ongoing failure and refusal to co-operate with their employer,' Mr Saunders said.

Australia Post said it welcomed the Fair Work Commission's ruling.