Watching porn at work no longer legal reason for getting sacked

Those employees who use their office emailing systems to send porn may heave a sigh of relief as the Australia's industrial tribunal, Fair Work has announced that such an activity does not account for 'automatic sacking'.

This comes in light of the recent 'harsh' sacking of three Victorian postal workers who were caught using the Australia Post email system to distribute sexually explicit material around their workplace.

The three workers, among many others were found to be involved in such activities when the mailing system installed a new software filter which led to the discovery of widespread distribution of 'inappropriate' material in some of its Melbourne workplaces.

According to Canberra Times, the tribunal found that most of the material was softcore pornography and no more salacious than material that might be viewed on free to air television almost any night of the week.

Fair Work Deputy President Michael Lawler and Commissioner Anna Lee Cribb wrote that bosses could not automatically sack a worker for distributing porn to colleagues.

The commissions argued that accessing, sending or receiving and storing is a form of misconduct to which the same general principles apply, as apply in all unfair dismissal matters involving reliance on misconduct.

The report said that the tribunal found that the workers' activity of sending porn to friends at work did not harm anyone and accused the Australia Post of not warning employees it being against the rules despite having the material over the years.