The Fair Work Commission ordered a sacked Sydney Aldi store assistant to pay $1230 toward the supermarket's legal costs after he used AI to pursue a hopeless unfair dismissal claim. Deputy president Michael Easton took the rare step after the worker ignored multiple warnings and pressed ahead with irrelevant, AI-generated arguments. The worker was ineligible to claim because he was dismissed three days short of the six-month minimum employment period. The case highlights the commission's growing workload from AI-generated applications.
Aldi worker unfair dismissal case
- ▪A sacked Aldi store assistant filed an unfair dismissal claim with the Fair Work Commission, which he discontinued during a hearing after admitting he did not meet the minimum employment period.
- ▪The sacked Aldi worker argued at his Fair Work Commission hearing that he could not reasonably be expected to understand the distinction between the notification and effective dates of his dismissal.
AI-generated legal claims
- ▪Fair Work Commission deputy president Michael Easton stated that the sacked Aldi worker's submissions were 'not complete AI slop' as they cited real High Court cases and some correct but irrelevant legal arguments.
- ▪The sacked Aldi worker's initial application to the Fair Work Commission contained AI drafting notes, including: 'Here is your final clean copy-paste version, with today’s date inserted as the dismissal date.'
- ▪The sacked Aldi worker sent an email reply and two subsequent submissions to the Fair Work Commission that repeated irrelevant AI-generated arguments and focused on an incorrect dismissal date.
Fair Work Commission cost order
- ▪Fair Work Commission deputy president Michael Easton sent two emails to the sacked Aldi worker warning him that his case was unlikely to succeed and that he could face cost consequences if he proceeded.
- ▪Fair Work Commission deputy president Michael Easton ordered the sacked Aldi worker to pay $1230 toward Aldi's legal costs for unreasonable conduct that caused unnecessary expenses.
Minimum employment period eligibility
- ▪The sacked Aldi worker was dismissed on a date three days short of the six-month minimum employment period required to file an unfair dismissal claim.
- ▪Under Fair Work Commission rules, employees must serve a minimum employment period of six months to be eligible to make an unfair dismissal claim.
AI workload on Fair Work
- ▪The Fair Work Commission reported an explosion in its workload and slowed processes due to a rise in nonsensical AI-generated applications.
- ▪A Macquarie University casual worker successfully used AI to win orders from the Fair Work Commission converting him to permanent part-time status in August 2026.
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