Graham was dismissed after his manager asked an IT worker to use his "FBI skills" to track the IP address on Graham's laptop, revealing he was logging on from Singapore. The commission also heard he had previously worked from Bali after telling his manager he was working from home because he had a plumber "coming around to sort out some recurring bathroom issues".
Xe found Graham knew he needed prior approval to work overseas and was required to attend the office three times a week. Graham said he had been holidaying in Singapore when his partner fell ill with a bacterial infection, preventing his return to Australia, and he provided documentation he said showed his partner required medical treatment. He had previously asked Xe to relocate to Singapore, a request that was denied.
Commissioner Alana Matheson said the company's tone "had clearly pivoted" the day after it emailed Graham on 17 November last year to advise him of its discovery, when he was told there was a case to answer regarding alleged breaches of company policy. Over the following 10 days, further email exchanges and a discussion between Xe managers took place.
In his written response, Graham said the trip was a holiday unrelated to his relocation request, the decision to reschedule his return flight was made over a weekend, and there was no expectation that he contact his manager outside business hours. He said that when he logged on from Singapore, he was "bombarded with triaging hundreds of unread emails", fielding calls and dealing with a complaint from a high-value client, which took priority over telling his manager he was overseas. He also said he had not been told about specific policies regarding hybrid work.
The company's termination letter on 2 December said Graham had not provided flight screenshots with his name, medical evidence that his partner was unable to travel, or an adequate explanation for not telling his manager he was in Singapore. It said his earlier compliance with absence and approval processes showed he was familiar with them and had made "a conscious choice not to follow" them.