A Sydney-based currency dealer who was found to have been working from Singapore without informing his employer has won an unfair dismissal case, but will not receive any compensation.
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who → base → compensation
Charles Graham, a foreign exchange dealer, was sacked by global currency company Xe for serious misconduct after his work laptop was traced to an Ibis hotel in the Asian city on November 17, 2025.
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laptop → sack → November
The company had previously noted instances in which he arrived late to work and claimed he was either unwell or waiting for a plumber at home after a mandatory three-day-a-week office attendance policy was introduced.
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policy → note → home
It followed an earlier incident in which Mr Graham claimed he needed to work from home because a plumber was coming to fix his toilet, but was actually in Bali.
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plumber → follow → Bali
Mr Graham brought the claim to the Fair Work Commission in Sydney, arguing his location had been discovered through 'illegal tracking surveillance', that he was unaware of Xe's policy on working overseas, and that he had previously worked from Bali on five occasions.
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he → bring → occasions
The commission noted in a decision published on Wednesday that there was a valid reason for his dismissal because he deliberately failed to disclose his overseas location.
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he → note → location
However, Commissioner Alana Matheson ruled Mr Graham had won his unfair dismissal claim as the company had failed to follow a fair process.
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company → rule → process
Charles Graham was sacked by global currency company Xe for serious misconduct after his work laptop was traced to Singapore (stock image)
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laptop → sack → Singapore
The revelation came after his manager Abigail Plummer (pictured) contacted the company's IT department to investigate his location
In September last year, Mr Graham requested he be allowed to relocate to Singapore for a year because he had a youth mobility visa which would run out by mid-November, the commission heard.
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commission → come → November
This was refused by Xe, which said the role was Sydney-based and the company did not have a licence for Singapore.
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company → refuse → Singapore
The commission noted Mr Graham then worked from home for three months after he shared a medical certificate for an eye injury.
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he → note → injury
He then took annual leave.
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He → take → leave
When he was due to return to work in mid-November, his manager Abigail Plummer contacted the company's IT department to investigate his location.
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manager → return → location
'Morninggg, our mate should be online today, first day since his holiday so I will need your FBI skills,' she said.
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she → need → skills
The investigation established that Mr Graham was logging on from Singapore rather than Australia.
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Graham → establish → Singapore
The commission heard Mr Graham claimed his partner fell ill while they were overseas and they had to delay their return to Australia.
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they → hear → Australia
He said he had planned to notify his manager but was caught up dealing with urgent work matters after logging on.
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he → say → matters
The Fair Work Commission ruled Mr Graham won his unfair dismissal case, but said he would not receive compensation (file image of the Fair Work Commission in Melbourne)
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he → rule → Melbourne
Xe rejected his account and said in his termination letter that he had not adequately explained why he kept his location secret or supplied enough evidence to prove his partner was too unwell to fly, the commission noted.
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commission → reject → evidence
As part of his unfair dismissal application, Mr Graham claimed he had worked from Bali on five previous occasions without facing disciplinary action.
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he → claim → action
But his manager told the commission she had been unaware he was overseas.
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he → tell → commission
On one occasion while he was in Bali, he had messaged her claiming he needed to work from home because a 'plumber [was] coming around to sort out some recurring bathroom issues'.
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plumber → message → issues
Commissioner Alana Matheson found his decision to hide the fact he was in Bali showed he understood he needed approval to work from another country.
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he → find → country
'I consider that (Mr Graham's) failure to disclose his location before he was caught working from Singapore was deliberate and amounted to dishonesty,' she said.
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she → consider → dishonesty
Although the commissioner accepted there were legitimate grounds for sacking Mr Graham, she found Xe failed to follow a fair process by not fully explaining the case against him or giving him a proper chance to defend himself.
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Xe → accept → himself
Messages exchanged between managers, including 'just need to sort strategy once IT confirm' and 'I'll reply, give him a bit of hope to turn up to the meeting', further indicated the company may have already decided to dismiss him before hearing his side of the story, she said.
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she → exchange → story
But in the commissioner's decision, she said Mr Graham would not receive compensation because a fairer dismissal process was unlikely to have changed the outcome.
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process → say → outcome
The Aporia
