Ex-Tas Walking Company worker pulls out of unfair dismissal case

A former tourism worker who said he lost his job after being barraged with crude, humiliating and demeaning jokes about his age, has pulled out of his unfair dismissal court battle.

A FORMER Tasmanian Walking Company employee who claimed he was subjected to “crude and demeaning jokes about his age” before being made redundant has withdrawn his unfair dismissal claim.

Philip Dornauf, 53, was due to battle his former employer — a tourism company running guided bushwalks through iconic spots such as the Three Capes Track — in the Federal Court on Monday.

But after the case had dragged through the courts for nearly two years, Mr Dornauf — the company’s former head of operations — withdrew his claim late last week, with the five-day hearing in Hobart vacated.

The Mercury was unable to reach Mr Dornauf or his lawyers for contact.

However, a Tasmanian Walking Company spokesman said the company had “always disputed the claims”.

“We stand by our reputation as an employer that looks after our staff, as we did during COVID-19 and the global financial crisis,” they said.

According to court documents, Mr Dornauf claimed he was a conscientious employee who worked 70 hours a week.

He was attempting to sue the company for damages and to be reinstated in his role, arguing he’d lost about $880,000 in future wages and suffered humiliation, pain, suffering, reputational damage, stress, anxiety and diminished job prospects.

Mr Dornauf claimed his employment had been cut short after complaining about the company’s practices and because he’d been unwilling to take on a general manager’s role. He also claimed his redundancy followed a barrage of “belittling and humiliating” comments about his age.

Mr Dornauf was made redundant in July 2018 after a company restructure.