DistantNews
Support us
🇦🇺 Australia /Crime & Justice

Sacked for fighting crime, Wendy 'The Enforcer' wins bottle-o job back

From ABC Australia · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Outcome reported
  • A Tasmanian BWS worker, nicknamed "The Enforcer," has won an unfair dismissal case after being sacked for using a roller door to deter thieves.
  • The worker was targeted by offenders over a dozen times between June 2025 and January 2026.
  • The Fair Work Commission ruled in her favor, finding the dismissal unfair despite policy violations.

Wendy Blair, a BWS bottle shop worker in Prospect Vale, Tasmania, known as "The Enforcer," has successfully won her job back after being unfairly dismissed. Blair was sacked for using a roller door to deter would-be thieves, an action taken after the store experienced over a dozen theft-related incidents between June 2025 and January 2026.

It wasn't a fun place to work at for a period of time.

— Gary Curtis-FlynnStore manager describing the difficult working environment due to frequent theft incidents.

The Fair Work Commission (FWC) ruled in Blair's favor, acknowledging the significant rise in "theft-related incidents" at the Prospect Vale BWS during that period. Store manager Gary Curtis-Flynn testified that the store had become an "unfun place to work" due to "swarming" incidents where gangs of offenders, often masked, looted the premises.

During one such incident in July 2025, Blair attempted to grab an offender's bag, which the FWC Commissioner Ben Redford described as a "particularly obvious failure" to adhere to BWS policy. The company's policy advised polite engagement for unarmed theft and no engagement for armed robbery, with police contact only permitted after offenders had left. Redford noted the difficulty employees might face in instantaneously deciding which policy applied under pressure.

particularly obvious failure

— Ben RedfordFair Work Commissioner describing an incident where Wendy Blair failed to adhere to BWS policy.

Despite receiving a "first and final warning" after the July incident, Blair made a "split-second decision" in September 2025 during another swarming incident. She lowered the roller door to deter two masked offenders, earning her the "Enforcer" nickname from colleagues. A sticker commemorating this action was even placed on the door, which management reportedly allowed as a "joke" to "lighten things at work." Blair claimed she was never warned about using the roller door and believed the nickname and sticker indicated her conduct was supported.

At worst, it might require an employee to make a decision, instantaneously and under pressure, as to whether the incident is 'armed' or not.

— Ben RedfordFair Work Commissioner explaining the challenges employees face in applying theft policies under pressure.

However, the use of the roller door contravened BWS policy. Following another swarming incident in January, where Blair again lowered the roller door, she was ultimately dismissed. The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association (SDA) celebrated the FWC's decision and urged the Tasmanian government to expedite proposed workplace protection legislation. Endeavour Group, the owner of BWS, stated it is reviewing the FWC ruling.

joke

— Ben RedfordFair Work Commissioner referring to the sticker placed on the roller door as a way to 'lighten things at work'.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

More Stories

From Our Blog