Child sex abuse ‘not work related’: Unfair dismissal claim thrown out

A PUBLIC servant who argued his conviction for child sexual abuse was “not work related” has had his unfair dismissal claim thrown out.

A PUBLIC servant convicted of child sexual abuse who lodged an unfair dismissal case from prison has had his case thrown out by the Fair Work Commission.

Former Australian Taxation Office worker Kevin Cooper, 55, was convicted of two counts of indecency of a person under 16 outside Australia in December 2012.

He was sentenced to three years and two months imprisonment in March 2013, and was notified of his dismissal from the ATO, where he had worked since 1987, in October last year.

The ATO dismissed Cooper for breaching its Code of Conduct — namely that employees “must at all times behave in a way that upholds the APS values and the integrity and good reputation of the APS”, and that the Australian Public Service has the “highest ethical standards”.

Cooper, who is set to be released on December 20, lodged an unfair dismissal application with the Fair Work Commission from Long Bay Correctional Centre.

Long Bay Correctional Centre.

His lawyers argued that his crimes took place outside of work hours, were not work-related, and that there was “no allegation of poor work performance”.

He was seeking to either be reinstated or be paid compensation following his release.

Fair Work Commission deputy president Jeff Lawrence rejected that argument. “The applicant’s convictions were for a serious offence which was clearly unethical. I find that the applicant was in breach of the Code of Conduct,” he wrote.

“I accept also that public sector employment has a special value. This is particularly so with an agency like the ATO which must maintain the confidence of the general public in dealing with their taxation and financial affairs.”

The application for relief from unfair dismissal was dismissed.

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Originally published as Child sex abuse ‘not work related’: Unfair dismissal claim thrown out