Fired Santos FIFO worker Karl Boobyer files damages claim for $600,000

A Queensland worker is suing for $600,000 alleging Santos reneged on a deal and fired him after he moved his family to New Zealand.

Santos managing director Kevin Gallagher. Picture: The Advertiser/ Morgan Sette

A disgruntled fly-in-fly-out worker has taken aim at his former employer Santos, demanding nearly $600,000 after the energy giant breached an offer allowing him to commute from New Zealand for a new construction supervisor role.

Karl Boobyer alleges Santos fired him after he moved his family to New Zealand after reneging on a deal and demanding he remain in Queensland.

Mr Boobyer had worked for Santos since 2012 as an environmental monitoring officer based in the Queensland town of Roma and moved into an environmental advisory role in 2017 which did not include any restriction on where he had to reside.

Mr Boobyer decided to move with his family to New Zealand in July 2021, alleging he held talks with a Santos executive, James Hitchins, about switching to a fly in-fly out role in the company’s onshore development division.

He alleges after discussing issues dealing with travel restrictions between the two countries, including the potential use of leave entitlements, Mr Hitchins confirmed he could start as a construction supervisor in October 2021 on a 15 days on, 13 days off contract.

Under the deal Mr Boobyer’s annual pay was to remain at $162,965 along with a field allowance of $13,500 a year in the new position.

However, Mr Boobyer alleges the job offer from Santos made in November last year included the stipulation that he must live in Queensland, as the state where he was hired, as part of a company policy to support communities where it operates.

Mr Boobyer argued in the statement of claim that the residence clause “was against the transparent discussions” held with Mr Hitchins, who held the role of development execution manager in the onshore development team.

He alleges he declined to accept the residence clause and in January 2022 moved his family to New Zealand.

But Mr Boobyer alleges he was sacked by Santos a month later on an alleged breach of his contract’s residency clause.

Mr Boobyer is demanding $578,228 in damages from Santos.

He alleges this includes $488,895 in lost wages and superannuation for the three years to February 2025.

The sum also includes field allowances, a bonus payment, 1796 Santos shares acquired through a company purchase scheme and $3000 worth of company shares he would have taken up through to 2025.

Santos, which declined to comment, bought Oil Search in December as part of a $21bn deal and along with Woodside Petroleum is one of Australia’s largest oil and gas producers, with its projects including Queensland’s GLNG gas export plant in Gladstone.

While both the energy and mining industries are experiencing buoyant conditions as demand for commodities soars, a shortage of workers has emerged as a growing problem after the tough pandemic lockdowns in states including Western Australia and Queensland in 2020 and 2021.

While WA lifted its hard border on March 3, mining executives have pointed to troubles finding skilled labour and called for Australia to lift its skilled immigration intake to ease a growing skills crisis across the sector.

Business groups have consistently called for a review of the country’s skilled intake since federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg’s March budget showed the government planned to maintain the 2022-23 migration program at 160,000, albeit with a rise in proportion of skilled workers.

Originally published as Fired Santos FIFO worker Karl Boobyer files damages claim for $600,000