Hervey Bay support worker Timothy Ladd loses unfair sacking claim

A disability support worker claims he was unfairly sacked for taking a child to a park in breach of his company’s Covid-19 policy, labelling his colleague a “narc”.

A Hervey Bay man has lost his battle over a sacking where he accused his coworker of being a “narc” due to an alleged Covid-19 health risk.

A Hervey Bay support worker, who claimed he was unfairly sacked after a “narc” colleague outed him for taking a client to the park when he shouldn’t have, has had his case dismissed.

Timothy Ladd took his former employer, Wide Bay Respite Services, to the Fair Work Commission after he was let go by the company by phone.

According to court documents, the reason for dismissal was that Mr Ladd had carried out a service that had already been cancelled and was in breach of the company’s Covid-19 policy.

A hearing for the application was held in Hervey Bay on November 26, 2024, and a decision handed down last month.

The documents state that on June 1, 2024, Mr Ladd attended the house of an all-abilities child client to pick him up and take him to the park, but his mother met him at the door to say she had cancelled the session due to an unknown illness moving through the household.

He dismissed the illness and offered to take the child anyway, to which the mother agreed.

While supervising the child at the park, Mr Ladd realised his phone had text messages from his boss and Wide Bay Respite Services CEO Sharon Parry, who told him the appointment was cancelled and to go run different errands for the company.

The mother called the service to let them know Mr Ladd had taken her child after he reportedly said: “It’s okay, I will still take (child’s name) out and risk being sick”.

Ms Parry, aged care manager Marie Taylor, and WBRS argued that this was a violation of the Covid-19 policy and the company’s code-of-conduct, with that document stating employees should “work closely with families and carers at all times to follow their instructions”.

Ms Parry, aged care manager Marie Taylor, and their company argued that Mr Ladd’s actions were a violation of the Covid-19 policy

The company also works in an aged care centre, meaning employees should be careful to not pass on illness between clients, the documents stated.

Mr Ladd said that members of the household he visited all tested negative for Covid-19, however; he agreed that some of the clients he worked with were elderly or vulnerable to illness.

On June 10 a conversation Ms Parry’s office took place between her and Mr Ladd.

He told the Commission he was simply asking who called to make a complaint about him taking the child out after the cancellation.

However, Fair Work Commissioner Jennifer Hunt found “Mr Ladd was ready for an argument and that this was combative and intimidating for Ms Parry and Ms Taylor” and that he pointed his finger at Ms Taylor and called her a “narc”.

The documents state Mr Ladd was later called by Ms Parry who told him his services were no longer needed.

Commissioner Hunt concluded that Mr Ladd’s evidence was “not truthful”, before determining there were valid reasons for the dismissal.

“Taking all of the circumstances of this matter into account, I have not been convinced that the Respondent’s decision to dismiss Mr Ladd because of his conduct was disproportionate,” she said.

The application was dismissed on April 15, 2025.

Originally published as Hervey Bay support worker Timothy Ladd loses unfair sacking claim