Employee claims he was sacked by text message

A Sydney traffic controller sued his former employer for unfair dismissal today claiming he was sacked by mobile phone text message.

“Its (sic) official, you no longer work for JNI Traffic Control and u (sic) have forfided (sic) any arrangements made,” read the message sent to John Eid in February, his lawyer Tom Earls told the tribunal.

“There was no justification,” Earls told the New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission.

“The lack of procedural fairness culminated in the undignified process of being terminated via an SMS (short message service) message.”

But JNI Traffic Control claimed Eid had in fact resigned, instead of the other way around.

He had “stated he would not work for JNI ever again and swore in colourful language, at length,” said company lawyer Kathryn Dent. “The SMS message that was sent the next day was an acceptance of a resignation.”

Commissioner Elizabeth Bishop warned about the dangers of using modern technology in the workplace, saying the text message should not have been sent regardless of whether Eid had resigned or was fired.

E-mails, text messages and answering machines were inappropriate for important official business communication, she said.

“What happened to the old fashioned letter or talking to someone in person?” Bishop asked.

She then ordered JNI Traffic Control and Eid to attempt to reconcile in a private session.