A 67-year-old Tasmanian BWS worker sacked after lowering a roller door during a theft has won her job back, with the Fair Work Commission ruling her dismissal was harsh and ordering her reinstatement.
Wendy Blair, known as ‘The Enforcer’, was fired by Endeavour Group in January after a “swarming” theft at the Prospect Vale BWS store where three offenders entered and filled bags with stolen liquor.
During the incident on January 9, Blair emerged from a storeroom and began lowering the front roller door to encourage the offenders to leave.
One male offender threw a bottle at colleague Evan Carydakis, striking him in the thigh before fleeing.
Endeavour Group argued Blair’s actions breached company theft response policies and escalated the situation.
Blair had worked for the company for around 17 years, starting at the Longford store before moving to Prospect Vale.
The store had experienced a sharp rise in theft, with an estimated 16 incidents between June 2025 and January this year.
Store manager Gary Curtis-Flynn told the Commission “it wasn’t a fun place to work at for a period of time.”
Blair received a first and final warning in August 2025 after grabbing an offender’s bag during a separate swarming incident the previous month.
However, Commissioner Ben Redford found Blair had used the roller door the same way during a theft in September 2025 without being disciplined.
Colleagues nicknamed her “The Enforcer” and placed a sticker near the roller door reading “Wendy ‘The Enforcer’ Roller Door”, which management allowed to remain for months.
Redford found this was “taken by the applicant as affirmatory with respect to her conduct.”
He ruled Blair’s lowering of the door was an indirect intervention, unlike the physical confrontation that triggered her earlier warning.
Redford also found Carydakis had been shouting at the male offender and visibly using a phone to call police, conduct he considered more likely to have provoked the bottle-throwing than Blair’s actions.
Carydakis was not criticised by the company for his behaviour during the incident.
The Commissioner noted the decision-maker who approved Blair’s sacking did not consider her lengthy unblemished record or period of service.
Blair was ordered reinstated to her Prospect Vale position with 50% of her lost pay, totalling $3,656.76 before tax and superannuation.
The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association has called on the Tasmanian government to fast-track proposed workplace protection legislation in response to the case.
Endeavour Group said it was reviewing the ruling.
