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

KFC has offered Australia Post workers free chicken after a former postie lost his bid to get his job back when he was dismissed following a visit to the fast food giant in his delivery van.

The worker, from Newcastle, spent more than 30 years with the postal service before being fired last year.

He took his case to the Fair Work Commission (FWC), arguing his dismissal was harsh and unreasonable but the tribunal ruled in favour of Australia Post, citing several misconduct incidents.

Following the case, KFC Australia announced it would be posting ‘postcards’ to itself which, if picked up by a postal worker, can be presented at a store to redeem a free Zinger Box.

‘While we don’t set the schedules, we do know how chicken-obsessed our fans can be and that the call for 11 herbs and spices can strike at any time of the day,’ a spokesperson for KFC said.

‘To ensure future visits by postmen are strictly ‘official business’, KFC is immediately posting a bunch of very urgent postcards addressed to… ourselves.

‘The good news for posties – we need you to deliver this essential mail right inside the restaurant.

‘When you do, simply hand the postcard over the counter to a friendly team member and it is redeemable for a free meal. Consider it postage paid in chicken.’

During the hearing, the FWC was told about several incidents of misconduct involving the Newcastle postal worker. 

The most unusual involved an unapproved visit to a KFC on May 7, 2025, during a period of about an hour when he was absent from his shift, according to documents seen by the Daily Mail. 

He’d used his Australia Post vehicle to stop at the fast food outlet, without permission from his supervisor.

The postie had been allotted a 30-minute unpaid lunch break at 10.40am.

‘[He] was required to let his supervisor know if he was taking a lunch break at a different time or location,’ commission deputy president Tony Saunders said.

That same day, the driver also left work 30 minutes early, again without permission.

A supervisor claimed the worker was rude when asked where he had been, first refusing to speak before telling the supervisor to ‘make an appointment’.

The supervisor asked, ‘Why are you trying to be -‘ but was interrupted by the worker who offered ‘Evasive?’, which the supervisor described as the ‘perfect word’.

Australia Post claimed the worker had also told the supervisor he planned to retire soon so he planned to ‘have some fun for the next two years’.

The postal service said that ‘fun’ involved ‘playing games’ with the company and ignoring his superiors.

In just one month, the worker racked up 19 unexplained absences and ignored 17 messages from managers.

‘He said he thought the text messages might have been a scam, but… [he] could not give a satisfactory explanation as to why he did not simply call his workplace to check whether the text messages were genuine,’ Mr Saunders said.

The worker presented medical certificates to the commission which showed he had been diagnosed with an ‘acute stress reaction’.

Australia Post had responded to the diagnosis by reducing the employee’s workload and time pressure.

Mr Saunders found that while the worker may struggle to find another job given his age and long employment with Australia Post, the postal service was justified in firing him due to the ‘grave nature’ of his misconduct.

‘A meaningful employment relationship cannot exist when an employee demonstrates an ongoing failure and refusal to co-operate with their employer,’ Mr Saunders said.

Australia Post said it welcomed the Fair Work Commission’s ruling.

‘We play an important role in delivering for the community and have high standards of conduct for all team members,’ a spokesperson for the postal service told the Daily Mail.