Mr Jeffrey Lyndon Piefke v Rio Tinto

This decision from the Fair Work Commission concerns an application by Mr Jeffrey Lyndon Piefke for an unfair dismissal remedy against Rio Tinto. Mr Piefke claims he was dismissed by Rio Tinto on 22 December 2021. Rio Tinto disputes that Mr Piefke was employed by them at that time, and argues that he resigned in January 2019. The Commission was required to decide if Mr Piefke could demonstrate that he was employed by Rio Tinto in December 2021 and that he was dismissed by them on that date. The Commission directed Mr Piefke to provide evidence to prove these points, but Mr Piefke failed to comply with the direction. He submitted numerous emails but none of them demonstrated that he was employed by Rio Tinto in December 2021 or that he was dismissed by them on that date. As a result, the Commission found that Mr Piefke had no reasonable prospect of succeeding with his unfair dismissal remedy application, and dismissed the application. The Commission made an order dismissing Mr Piefke's application.