Qantas Set to Compensate Ex-Employee Over Unlawful Dismissal During COVID Outbreak

The former employee was fired for advising against cleaning planes from China at the outset of the pandemic.

The A350, the ultra-long-range Airbus that will fly between Sydney and London beginning in 2025. Qantas/TNS

Qantas will pay over $20,000 (US$13,000) to a former employee who was illegally sacked for directing colleagues to stop cleaning planes from China at the start of the pandemic due to concerns about COVID-19 transmission.

Theo Seremetidis, a trained health and safety representative, was stood down in February 2020, hours after telling others to stop servicing the planes.