"Exemplary" 31-year worker sacked for porn pictures on his laptop!

The Sydney Morning Herald, 10^th of May 2006.

A company's decision to sack an "exemplary" employee for storing pornography on his work laptop was justified, even though he was sent the images by senior managers, a NSW tribunal has found.

Richard Budlong, 56, was dismissed from his job at technology company NCR Australia on June 7 last year, after 31 years of service.

He then launched an unfair dismissal case in the NSW Industrial Relations Commission (IRC).

Mr Budlong's sacking was a result of an NCR investigation that found he had breached the company's IT policy prohibiting the accessing, viewing, storing and sending of pornographic material.

The investigation was sparked by a colleague who reported Mr Budlong for accessing a single X-rated image at work.

A subsequent forensic examination of his laptop found at least 175 saved pornographic images in a folder on his hard drive labelled "amusements".

Mr Budlong, who had received 26 performance awards during his extensive service, argued he had been sent explicitly pornographic images from a range of senior colleagues, including a director and general manager, since 2000.

He said he was not overly concerned about the images because they had been sent by senior managers and therefore he argued NCR "had a workplace culture which tolerated the distribution of such material".

Mr Budlong, who only ever emailed on one pornographic image, admitted saving the material had been wrong, but he had only done so because he was concerned with "collecting and systematically organising things generally in his life".

He also claimed his conduct was not serious enough to justify dismissal because the company took two months to get around to sacking him.

However, NCR argued Mr Budlong had knowingly breached the company's policies, had been subjected to a fair investigative process, and had engaged in repeated and flagrant acts of misconduct of the highest category of offence.

While NSW IRC commissioner John Murphy noted Mr Budlong's contrition and embarrassment over the allegations, he ultimately found his sacking was justified.

"The commission is not prepared to accept the argument that the prevailing culture was to blame and that the organisation's failure to follow up others involved ... is a proper defence for the applicant's actions," Mr Murphy said.

However, the commissioner did recognise the issues raised in the dispute were difficult, especially given Mr Budlong's otherwise "exemplary" employment history.

"This was a case which caused some concern for the commission, particularly (because) the applicant ... is a man of advancing years ... with much lower prospects of re-employment, and obvious dire financial repercussions upon him and his wife.

"(But) the commission has been required to look at the matter dispassionately."

Australian Associated Press

2006