Employment is based on a contract in which there is an implied obligation on the employee not to harm the employer. If an employee steals from the employer or damages the employer’s property, the contract may be terminated. The same is true when an employee drives away customers or financiers by publicly criticising their employer.

The High Court recently ruled that a public servant can be sacked for social media posts critical of the government, even when the posts are made anonymously. Rugby Australia sacked Israel Folau on the grounds that he is not entitled to express his religious beliefs, with which it disagrees, because they are said to breach his employment contract.