Sacked after telling workmates they did not have to sign a pay cut

Mr Fox started as a Senior Environmental Advisor at NQM's Pajingo gold mine on 31 July 2023, on six months' probation. He had moved to Townsville for the job. He also joined the mine's emergency response team, which meant blocks of rescue training and, once qualified, an allowance of $6,000 a year.

In late October and early November 2023, two colleagues told him they had been offered new contracts that would lower their pay. To one he said, "If you're not happy with it don't sign it." To the other, "If you don't want to sign it, don't." On 7 November his manager put him on a "reserve list" for further emergency response training. He asked HR for help and offered to train in his own time. The manager said no.

On 17 November he was stood down. At a show cause meeting, HR said colleagues had made statements that he had tried to coerce them into not signing. He was dismissed on 27 November 2023, told he had failed his probation.

Mr Fox claimed he was sacked for exercising workplace rights, in breach of s 340. The court agreed. Talking with colleagues about pay is protected by s 333B, and his complaints about the training were protected too. That meant the company had to prove those were not among its reasons. It could not. No performance concerns had been raised with him before the show cause letter, and in cross-examination the manager agreed the pay talk and the training complaints were critical to his decision. The court did not accept his later attempt to take that back. The company also owed Mr Fox $884.17 in unpaid wages.

In June 2026 the court ordered NQM to pay Mr Fox $20,000 for non-economic loss, $5,929.42 to move his belongings back to Sydney, five months' lost pay plus interest (for the parties to calculate), and $67,500 in penalties, payable to him.