Aldi Worker Ordered to Pay $1,230 After AI Drafts Doomed Unfair Dismissal Claim

An Aldi store assistant in Sydney has been ordered to pay AUD $1,230 toward the supermarket’s legal costs in a landmark Fair Work Commission decision. The worker used AI to draft his unfair dismissal claim despite being dismissed three days short of the six-month minimum employment period required by law. Fair Work Commission Deputy President Michael Easton said the worker ignored repeated warnings and continued submitting AI-generated arguments focused on the wrong date, making the case unwinnable from the start.

Why the worker’s claim was doomed from the start

The Aldi employee was dismissed three days before completing his six-month minimum employment period, the legal threshold for unfair dismissal claims in Australia. Under the Fair Work Act, the minimum period ends when a worker is notified of dismissal, not when employment actually ceases. The worker’s AI-generated application focused on the wrong date entirely, arguing from when employment ended rather than when he was notified. This error made the claim ineligible from the moment he filed it.

How AI gave confidently wrong legal advice

The AI generated coherent legal reasoning and cited real cases, but answered the wrong question entirely. Deputy President Easton personally emailed the applicant twice in plain English explaining why his case could not succeed. The worker’s AI-generated replies ignored both warnings and continued arguing the wrong point. Easton noted the worker was informed multiple times before the hearing that he was unlikely to win.

The rare cost order and its message

In a decision Easton described as “very rare,” the Fair Work Commission ordered the worker to pay AUD $1,230 of Aldi’s legal costs. Easton said the order was made because “his unreasonable conduct caused his former employer to incur those costs unnecessarily.” The worker conceded at the hearing within minutes that he had not served the minimum employment period and discontinued his claim. The Fair Work Commission has highlighted a rise in nonsensical AI-generated applications that have slowed its processes.

What this means for workers using AI in legal claims

The ruling distinguishes between using AI as a drafting tool and blindly submitting AI outputs without reading or understanding them. Using AI to assist with drafting is not unreasonable, Easton said. However, workers must verify that AI-generated arguments address the correct legal question and meet the law’s requirements. The case comes after a Macquarie University casual worker successfully used AI to win a Fair Work claim converting him to permanent part-time status, showing AI can work when used correctly.

Final Thoughts

This case warns workers that AI can sound authoritative while being fundamentally wrong. Using AI to draft legal submissions requires human verification against the actual law, not blind reliance on the tool’s output. The Fair Work Commission’s cost order signals it will not tolerate wasting tribunal time with unwinnable claims.

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