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An employer's "abrupt" dismissal of a poor performing employee, after finding he "wasted" seven hours browsing non-work-related websites, was procedurally deficient, the Fair Work Commission has ruled.

In May this year, Chrysiliou IP's director raised concerns about the patent and trademark attorney's lack of response to a client, and the employee responded by excusing himself from the matter, noting he could "smell a bad debtor rat on this", and saying the client had provided him with information that was "far too vague".

Following a meeting about the issue a few days later, the employer stood down the employee, claiming he had been "aggressive and abusive" towards the director.

The employee denied the allegations, however the employer gave him a warning letter, stating his "debtor rat" comment was "absolutely unjustified", that it was his responsibility to seek further information from clients if necessary, and that his conduct had damaged its reputation...