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, I have been employed as a contractor with no work agreement.

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Hi, I have been employed...

Hi, I have been employed as a contractor with no work agreement. I have been working every for the past 6 weeks. I have verbal conversations and emails that I am booked in to work till 10th April. Yesterday my employment was terminated cause I sent a student a SMS with a smiley face and lol. Are you able to advise my of my or any entitlements. Frank **********

Submitted: 8 years ago.Category: Australia Law

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Answered in 8 minutes by:

3/17/2015

Solicitor: Leon, Solicitor replied 8 years ago

Leon, Solicitor

Category: Australia Law

Satisfied Customers: 52,728

Experience: BEc Dip Ed, Dip Law (SAB) MTax (UNSW)

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Good Morning
My name is ***** ***** I am a NSW Solicitor. Thank you for your question, and will do my best to assist you with your question.
Did you only work for this employer?
How old was the student and are you a teacher?
Did the employer have policies about how to deal with students and appropriate behaviour?

Customer reply replied 8 years ago

I have worked for over 12 yrs teaching without a compliant.
Im a Teacher in the workplace, I was doing pre employment training..
I had no induction or given any polices or procedures.

Solicitor: Leon, Solicitor replied 8 years ago

Good Morning
Did the student complain about you and do you have details about the complaint?
Because you have just started there is no claim for unfair dismissal and your only option is to sue for breach of contract.
The fact you have been teaching for 12 years would go against you as they will argue thou should have known what is appropriate and what is not.
How old was this student? Al;so was there other communication by text between you?
All of this is going to have a bearing on your action for breach of contract.

Customer reply replied 8 years ago

Did the student complain about you and do you have details about the complaint? The student complained to the site supervisor.Because you have just started there is no claim for unfair dismissal and your only option is to sue for breach of contract.The fact you have been teaching for 12 years would go against you as they will argue thou should have known what is appropriate and what is not.How old was this student? Al;so was there other communication by text between you? the student was a 19yo female. She approached me on the 2nd day stating that she cant complete the course cause her mother lost her driving lic and started cry. I advised her that this crying attitude needs to stop and offered her assessments to take home and complete so she could continue with the course, which she accepted and agreed. 3 days later when she was coming to class via public transport she sent me 2 SMS stating shell be arriving late, I replied with a SMS COOL STOP STRESSING LOL, SHE INTERETED lol as Lots of Love and lodged a complaint. My mistake i feel was that I did SMS her that the following week I can give her a lift to the nearby train station rather than walk 15 mins.All of this is going to have a bearing on your action for breach of contract.

Solicitor: Leon, Solicitor replied 8 years ago

Good Morning
What you have told me appears to be inappropriate
It is not going to assist you at all.
It may be harsh to dismiss you but the costs of having a hearing and taking to to court will be high as the employer will allege this is inappropriate.
She is a student and she is in a vulnerable position where you are in a position of power and the courts will not see this as a positive for you.
I am sorry but there is very little that can be done.

Customer reply replied 8 years ago

Your the one qualified to draw a legal opinion on this issue. So as I understand this, my offence was trying to accommodate a client (the student) request for support. I have and either has anyone ive spoken to, taken LOL as Lots of Love. there are some things in todays society that need to be contested on moral grounds.

Solicitor: Leon, Solicitor replied 8 years ago

Good Afternoon,
I understand you tried to support the student, but comments such as lots of love winking etc can be seen as inappropriate between a teacher and a student.
There are very strict guidelines about how you must act when you have a position of trust.
You can discuss the matter with your employer and see whether they are willing to overturn a decision on the basis of you making an honest mistake and that you meant nothing by your comments but the fact that the student complained is a huge issue.
Your first point of call is to speak with your employer and see whether they are prepared to change their mind and they should provide you with the opportunity to respond to these allegations.

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