Qantas Set to Compensate Ex-employee Over Unlawful Dismissal During COVID Outbreak

Qantas will pay over $20,000 (US$13,000) to a former employee who was illegally sacked for directing colleagues to stop cleaning planes from China at the start of the pandemic due to concerns about COVID-19 transmission. Theo Seremetidis, a trained health and safety representative, was stood down in February 2020, hours after telling others to stop servicing the planes. Mr. Seremetidis gave the instruction a day after the government closed the border to China. During a hearing at the New South Wales (NSW) District Court on Feb. 29, it was revealed that Qantas agreed to compensate Mr. Seremetidis with $15,000 for “hurt and humiliation,” in addition to $6,000 for his economic loss....