Jacqui Lambie has revealed details of a dispute with an ex-staffer in a speech to parliament claiming that unfair dismissal laws are being abused and hitting small businesses hard.
Speaking under parliamentary privilege Wednesday night, the crossbencher told the Upper House her former staffer started off well but after a few months began having performance issues.
Senator Lambie alleged the staffer repeatedly showed up late and painted their nails at their desk.
“We took them off probation and what do you know, that person begins showing up late for work, 22 times in a matter of weeks,” she said.
When cautioned by the office manager, the staffer said they had done all their work and painted their nails in their “downtime”, according to Senator Lambie.
Her office manager consulted with the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service (PWSS), but “the staff member resigned, sent us all a nice email and then three weeks later put in an unfair dismissal claim”.
PWSS then handed the case to a law firm, she said.
Senator Lambie said the ordeal had inflicted “psychological damage” on her office, but said small businesses had a far harder time of it.
“Small businesses are being smothered by red tape, and unfair dismissal laws are one of the worst offenders,” she said.
A small businesses have fewer than 15 employees and have greater flexibility when it comes to letting staff members go than larger employers.
But they must adhere to the Small Business Fair Dismissal Code, which restricts firings without notice to “serious misconduct”, such as theft, fraud, violence and sexual harassment.
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