Woolworths Grocery Employee Fired for Allegedly Not Covering His Butt Crack. Then the Real Crack Gets Investigated
But why?
A former Woolworths employee who filed a compensation claim after a co-worker told him to cover his exposed butt crack just got a reality check from the Fair Work Commission. On May 7, 2026, Deputy President Alan Colman dismissed the case, calling it a waste of time and warning that speculative claims like this one are clogging up the system.
According to The Guardian, the unnamed Victorian man claimed he was dismissed in breach of workplace rights after a co-worker pointed out his plumber’s crack was visible and suggested, in blunt terms, that he pull his pants up. The man said he was upset and filed a claim demanding compensation.
There was just one problem, Colman said. The man was never actually fired. The popular grocery chain showed he kept working shifts after lodging the claim and later stopped showing up on his own. That made his entire application invalid.
Colman didn’t hold back in his decision
He called the case a speculative claim made in hopes of squeezing a quick settlement out of Woolworths. The employee ignored orders to attend a telephone hearing, leaving the deputy president with no way to challenge his version of events.
Colman said unmeritorious claims like this one hurt everyone. Respondents get dragged into baseless cases, legitimate applicants face longer wait times, and the commission’s caseload keeps growing with no real disincentive for people filing frivolous complaints.
This isn’t the first time the Fair Work Commission has had to deal with questionable claims. The rise of AI tools like ChatGPT has made it easier than ever for people to generate lengthy, confusing applications without understanding the legal process.
Commission President Justice Adam Hatcher said in February that AI-generated language is now easy to spot in filings, and it’s breaking the usual link between dismissal claims and the job market. In the past, more people filed unfair dismissal claims when jobs were scarce. Now, the numbers keep climbing no matter what’s happening in the economy.
The commission’s frustration with AI misuse isn’t new
This month, a full bench of deputy presidents and a commissioner called out an Uber driver for drowning them in pages of AI-generated emails and documents that made no sense. The driver had been deactivated from the platform after multiple misconduct incidents, lost his unfair dismissal case, and then tried to appeal with a flood of incoherent material.
The bench said AI can’t replace human judgment in litigation. It warned that unchecked AI use wastes time, delays real cases, and makes it harder for the commission to do its job. The Uber driver’s AI-drafted complaints were so confusing that the commission had to sift through them just to figure out what he was actually trying to say.
The bench refused his request to recuse themselves and tossed his appeal. They made it clear that while the commission tries to accommodate unrepresented litigants, there’s a limit. Parties can’t just dump AI-generated nonsense into the system and expect leniency.
The Woolworths case might seem like a silly example, but it’s part of a much bigger problem
The Fair Work Commission saw nearly 44,075 lodgements in 2024-25, up from 29,631 just four years earlier. That number is expected to climb past 50,000 in the coming year. Colman pointed out that speculative claims have little downside for the people filing them. There are no real consequences, so they keep coming. Meanwhile, legitimate cases get pushed further down the line.
If you’ve ever worked a job that involves bending, lifting, or moving around a lot, you’ve probably dealt with the dreaded plumber’s crack at some point. It’s uncomfortable, it’s awkward, and most people just fix it and move on. The Woolworths employee’s reaction was different. Instead of adjusting his pants, he turned a minor workplace moment into a legal battle.
Colman’s decision makes it clear that the Fair Work Commission isn’t here to settle every hurt feeling or minor grievance. It’s supposed to handle real disputes, not speculative claims that waste everyone’s time.
The rise of AI has made it easier for people to file complaints without understanding the process, but it hasn’t made the commission’s job any easier. The Uber driver case shows what happens when AI-generated material takes over. The commission ends up buried under pages of repetitive, confusing documents that don’t actually help anyone’s case.
The Woolworths employee’s claim might have been simpler, but it’s part of the same trend. People are filing claims first and asking questions later, hoping for a quick payout or settlement. The Fair Work Commission is a serious body meant to handle real workplace disputes. When people file baseless claims, they’re making it harder for people with legitimate cases to get a fair hearing.
(Featured image: Westburn World)
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