Re: Qantas boots air steward for stealing pink Uggs Read more: http://www.news.com.
Apologies for that. Having now read the article itself - there is no indication of criminal charges.
I still don't see how QF were within their rights to sack someone for acts undertaken outside of work hours.
Actually it is very common for employees to be sacked for acts committed outside of work hours.
As a public servant I am required to abide by the
APS Code of Conduct there are some things I cannot do at work, e.g. view coughography on my computer, that I can do at home.
There are some things I can never do, e.g. misuse the government credit card issued to me. If i do then I may be charged with a criminal offence
and/or investigated for breaching the APS Code of Conduct (CoC).
A criminal offence is just that and requires proof to the standard of '
beyond reasonable doubt' a breach of the APS CoC is a civil offence and only requires proof to the '
balance of probabilities' .
It is very common for public servants to be dealt with under both courses of action or sometimes the latter if the criminal offence is deemed by the DPP as not in the public interest to prosecute.
All organisations have their own CoC and it is possible that in this case (of which I have no knowledge at all) that the employee is alleged to have breached the QF CoC and was dealt with under its provisions.
Therefore, there is no need for a criminal prosecution for dismissal to occur.