School cleaner loses unfair dismissal claim over ‘toe finger’ teacher massage

A DARWIN cleaner who was sacked for giving a teacher a massage at the school where she worked has lost her unfair dismissal claim.

Jennifer Fauni made a claim to the Fair Work Commission after being sacked for giving a teacher a massage. Picture: Supplied

A DARWIN cleaner who was sacked for giving a teacher a massage at the school where she worked has lost her unfair dismissal claim.

Jennifer Fauni was working for Darwin contract cleaning company Bright Lightz Cleaning Service Australia, which had a major contract with the NT Department of Education.

According to the decision handed down by the Fair Work Commission earlier this week, Ms Fauni was working at a Darwin special needs school, which was not named, during school hours in September last year when a teacher asked her to “squeeze her shoulder” because she was in pain.

Ms Fauni stated she did so for about two minutes and “using my toe finger I slowly squeezed her back for less than a second”.

It is unclear whether the “toe finger” refers to Ms Fauni walking on the teacher’s back.

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In February this year, Ms Fauni received a termination of employment email saying they had just been informed that she “provided a service during business hours to one of the teachers late last year which was outside of our Contract of Services”.

“Unfortunately we have to terminate your employment as your actions breached our Contract of Services with the Northern Territory education department and has very serious repercussions,” the email said.

She was given two-weeks notice before her employment ceased.

A letter from the teacher in question was submitted to the commission in which she defended Ms Fauni saying: “This (the massage) occurred only once and I was grateful that Jennifer was there to help.”

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In outlining the reasons for his decision, Fair Work Commission deputy president Peter Sams said he was “satisfied that the employer had admitted conduct which was sufficiently serious to justify the applicant’s immediate dismissal”.

He also noted it was “curious why (the teacher) had agreed to both a shoulder massage and a back massage, presumably with the applicant ‘working’ her feet (toes) on (her) back.”