'F***ing useless. Make this your last week': forestry worker loses ERA dispute over expletive-laden text

Forestry worker Arona Gray claims he understood the expletive-laden text to be a dismissal from his role. Picture / 123RF.

An expletive-laden text message was at the centre of an Employment Relations Authority (ERA) decision released this week.

"F-ing useless. Make this your last week, f-ing wasting my time," said the February 8, 2017 text sent by Chilton Logging's Blair Chilton to forestry worker Arona Gray, who was at the time employed as a gang foreman.

Gray said that he took this to mean that he had been fired and that it amounted to an unfair dismissal.

Despite claiming that he believed his employment to have been terminated, Gray returned to work the following day and worked a half day before leaving in frustration.

"I've had enough – I'm not coming tomorrow," he told a co-worker on the site.

The employer, Chilton, countered Gray's submission that the text message amounted to termination of the employment agreement, saying he was "simply exasperated by Gray's behaviour" and wanted to "give him a tune up".

Chilton's frustration arose because Gray had terminated work on site after fuel ran out and workers were sent home.

Chilton claimed that he was exasperated because Gray "knew, or ought to have known, that Chilton would be back at noon with more fuel".

Chilton told the ERA that he had absolutely no intention to dismiss Gray.

The ERA decided this dispute in favour Chilton's version of events in that there was insufficient evidence of Gray having been dismissed.

"Any reasonable person reading the text message that he received would have concluded that the sender was exasperated but no more than that," the ERA decision said.

The ERA also said that Gray should have taken steps to find out if the text message was meant as a dismissal.

"There is no evidence before the Authority that Mr Gray did in fact try to contact Mr Chilton, save for Mr Gray's testimony to that effect," the decision said.

"He did not produce telephone records or any other evidence to corroborate his claims. Mr Chilton knew nothing of any attempt that Mr Gray made to contact him on the evening of 8 February 2017."

The ERA also questioned why Gray would return to work the following day (Thursday) but not the day thereafter if he legitimately did believe his employment had been terminated.

"Mr Gray's conduct and behaviour is inconsistent with his claim that the first clause of the second sentence of the text message from Mr Chilton was a dismissal timed to take effect at the end of that week. If he had believed that, it would be appropriate for him to work that week in full but he did not," the decision said.

While the decision was made in favour of Chilton Logging, the company was still required to pay Gray his outstanding holiday remuneration.

"Mr Gray is entitled to his holiday pay and the retention of that holiday pay by Chilton Logging is quite improper," the decision said.