A former council worker who says he took three days off to fight off a savage bushfire near his parent’s home has lost his job.
Beau Carroll took time from work to help defend his parent’s home from a raging fire on the Mid North Coast of NSW from Monday through to Wednesday and claims his contract had been terminated by Thursday.
The Newcastle Herald reported the labour hire worked at the City of Newcastle and was contracted through Forsythes Recruitment.
Mr Caroll believes he was let go from his position because he took time off to help his family defend their home from the raging blazes.
The 34-year-old says when he returned to an area that had mobile service on Thursday, there was a message notifying him there was no shift for him to return to the following day.
There was also reportedly a message from council supervisors informing him that his services were no longer required for the rest of the week.
Mr Caroll also claimed he received a phone call from the agency which told him the council terminated his contract due to ongoing issues with him being late to work – an accusation he categorically denies.
“It was not what I wanted to come back to. I was always punctual. I was not late, ever. I had not received any disciplinary warnings,” he explained.
“They basically sacked me because I hadn’t turned up that week.”
The City of Newcastle has denied Mr Carroll’s suggestion that his “short-term contract ended due to him fighting bushfires”.
“The reasons for the termination are well known to Mr Carroll and the labour hire company through which he was employed,” a spokesperson told Yahoo News Australia.
“City of Newcastle offers its permanent staff up to five days additional paid leave annually if they participate in volunteer work during a natural disaster, such as the recent bushfires.
“One employee has submitted a request for four days volunteer emergency service leave in the past fortnight.”
Several homes and parts of a public school turned to rubble when a fire tore through Bobin, north of Taree, two weeks ago. The fire burned more than 14,000 hectares.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says $48 million has been set aside for recovery as firefighters used the better weather conditions on Sunday to strengthen the bushfire containment lines.
