Aussie truck driver loses job after making $100k mistake

A truck driver who cost his employer more than $100,000 after an entire load of ice cream defrosted during a delivery run has lost his unfair dismissal case, with the Fair Work Commission ruling the costly mistake justified his sacking.

Jeremiah Manly was dismissed by ERH Refrigerated Transport just days after a December 2025 trip in which a trailer carrying frozen products was set to the wrong temperature, ruining the shipment bound for Sydney.

The Fair Work Commission heard Mr Manly drove from Wagga Wagga to a cold storage facility in Truganina, Melbourne, to collect a load of ice cream for delivery to a customer in Sydney.

The load sheet specified the trailer should have been set to minus 22C.

However, Commissioner Damian Sloan found that ‘throughout the entirety of Mr Manly’s trip, the temperature in the trailer had been set at minus 1C.’

By the time the error was detected and the trailer’s temperature was remotely corrected by ERH’s night manager, the ice cream had defrosted.

‘The entire load for the trip had to be written off and disposed of,’ the commissioner said.

The commission heard the spoiled cargo was worth almost $74,000, while disposal costs added a further $30,000 to the total bill.

Mr Manly had worked as a linehaul driver for the company since November 2022 and completed an estimated 600 trips transporting refrigerated goods between Wagga Wagga and Melbourne.

He was fired on December 8 and later lodged an unfair dismissal claim, arguing the company had failed to follow a fair process.

While Commissioner Sloan found there had been a lack of procedural fairness because the company had already decided to dismiss Mr Manly before hearing his response, the commissioner said the flaw was not enough to overturn the decision.

‘By the time of the meeting on 8 December 2025, the horse had bolted,’ the commissioner said.

Mr Manly claimed he remembered setting the temperature correctly but could not explain why it had failed to remain at the required level.

He also argued the trailer doors had not shut properly and required maintenance while he was at the Melbourne depot.

Commissioner Sloan rejected that explanation, noting it was raised for the first time during the hearing and was inconsistent with records of the trailer’s temperature.

The commissioner also found Mr Manly had multiple opportunities to identify the problem while on the road.

‘He accepted at the hearing that he had six opportunities to check the trailer’s temperature, but it is clear that he failed to do so,’ the commissioner said.

‘The consequences of Mr Manly’s dereliction of duty were foreseeable. They resulted in significant loss for ERH.’

Commissioner Sloan ultimately found the company had a valid reason to terminate Mr Manly’s employment and dismissed the application.

‘I find that Mr Manly’s dismissal was not harsh, unjust or unreasonable,’ the commissioner ruled.

ERH Refrigerated Transport has been contacted for comment.