KFC’s cheeky move after Australia Post worker lost his job following a visit to the fast food giant on company time

KFC Australia has offered postal workers a free chicken meal after a former Australia Post employee lost his bid to get his job back at the Fair Work Commission, having been sacked partly over an unapproved visit to a KFC while on shift. The Newcastle-based postie, who had worked for the postal service for more than 30 years, was dismissed last year following several misconduct incidents, and the tribunal sided with Australia Post rather than reinstating him. In response, KFC ran a light-hearted promotion inviting posties to "deliver" a self-addressed postcard to a branch in exchange for a free Zinger Box.

The case centred on an incident on 7 May 2025, when the worker used his delivery van to visit a KFC without his supervisor's permission during an hour he was absent from his shift, and later left work early, also unapproved. The Fair Work Commission heard he had racked up 19 unexplained absences and ignored 17 messages from managers in a single month, telling a supervisor he planned to "have some fun" before retiring. Despite medical evidence of an "acute stress reaction," deputy president Tony Saunders ruled the dismissal justified given the "grave nature" of the misconduct, prompting KFC's cheeky marketing response.