In this article, we explore four dramatic office affair dismissals in 2026, examining how workplace relationships led to serious professional consequences. These cases include an Australian CEO whose secret romance reportedly cost his company nearly $30 million, a married Chinese worker who suffered a brain haemorrhage during an office tryst, the office affair that led to the departure of Nestlé’s global CEO, and a controversial workplace romance at a Sydney hair salon that ended up before the Fair Work Commission.
In September 2026, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) filed a Federal Court lawsuit against Anthony Heraghty, the former CEO of Super Retail Group (which owns such brands as Rebel Sport and Supercheap Auto). The litigation concerned Mr Heraghty’s alleged office affair with the Group’s head of HR, Jane Kelly. ASIC alleged the affair started as early as 2021, but remained secret until April 2024. That was when the Group announced it was going to be sued by two of its employees for up to $50 million. The two whistleblowers had raised internal complaints about the affair and the CEO’s conflict of interest.
Court filings detailed instances where the pair were alleged to have been together. They reportedly stayed together in a Tasmanian hotel for three nights, as well as an Air BnB in Sydney. The pair also allegedly went on overseas trips together. It was also alleged that in October 2023, Mr Heraghty’s executive assistant resigned after being contacted directly by Mr Heraghty’s then wife. His wife had obtained text messages and evidence revealing the ongoing office affair.
When anonymous whistleblowers raised concerns in 2023, both Mr Heraghty and Ms Kelly denied the office affair. The Group’s board commissioned an external legal review that relied on Mr Heraghty’s assurances. This led the company to mistakenly reject the claims as unsubstantiated and publicly back Mr Heraghty. He controlled the flow of information to the board by participating in discussions about the complaints while continuing to oversee Ms Kelly’s pay and career progression.
In July 2024, the whistleblowers filed their statement of claim in the Federal Court of Australia. They alleged bullying, harassment, unreasonable workloads and victimisation stemming from their attempts to expose the relationship. They highlighted that Mr Heraghty continued to supervise Ms Kelly and participate in decisions regarding her compensation, promotions and eventual exit package despite the clear personal conflict.
Super Retail Group ended up firing the two whistleblowers and threatening them with defamation action. The intense pressure caused both to be hospitalised.
Read more: Told to Hide Bum Crack, Woolies Worker Loses Dismissal Claim
In September 2025, the Group’s board received fresh information regarding the secret office affair. Realising Mr Heraghty’s prior disclosures were unsatisfactory, the board summarily dismissed him, leaving him without his $3.4 million in unvested equity incentives. Later that month, the Group settled the court dispute with whistleblowers. In total, defending the secret affair and managing the litigation reportedly cost the company nearly $30 million in legal expenses and settlement payouts.
Despite the bad publicity, Mr Heraghty landed a new role as CEO of luxury appliance retailer Winning Group in August 2026. However, the next month he faced ASIC civil proceedings in the Federal Court. The regulator alleged he breached his duties as a director under the Corporations Act 2001. ASIC is seeking penalties exceeding $1 million per breach along with orders disqualifying him from managing corporations.
This crazy story of an office affair made the media rounds in September 2026. It involved a married man in his forties, known as Mr Zhang, who lodged unfair dismissal proceedings in China’s Shahe People’s Court. Mr Zhang, based in Hebei Province, worked at a firm referred to in court proceedings as Company B.
During the late hours of 22 January 2024, Mr Zhang suffered a sudden brain haemorrhage and cerebral herniation after having sex with a female colleague following work hours. The medical crisis left him in a vegetative state and legally incapacitated. In March 2024, Mr Zhang was fired by Company B, for misconduct and violating workplace disciplinary policies.
Following the termination of employment, Mr Zhang’s mother assumed legal guardianship and filed a lawsuit seeking over 383,000 yuan (around AU$82,000). The financial demands included 11 months of retroactive social security contributions, medical subsidies, sickness allowances and damages for unfair dismissal. Mr Zhang’s case centered on whether an employer could legally sack a worker who was critically ill and undergoing medical treatment.
Company B argued to the court that Mr Zhang knew full well that his office affair violated its policies. The court accepted that the firm had formally established its disciplinary framework in 2023 during an employee representatives’ meeting. Mr Zhang had been part of that meeting in his capacity as an employee representative. Company B’s disciplinary policy explicitly outlined that engaging in improper personal relationships with colleagues warranted immediate termination of employment.
The Shahe People’s Court found that Mr Zhang was fully aware of these behavioural expectations prior to his office affair. It stated that while workers maintain distinct rights while receiving medical care, suffering a serious health condition does not negate responsibility for severe breaches of workplace policy. The court confirmed that Company B fulfilled all statutory procedural requirements as part of the termination of employment.
Mr Zhang, however, did secure a small win. The court ordered Company B to pay him 11,159.98 yuan (around AU$2,400) in unpaid sick leave. It dismissed all of his other financial demands.
Read more: Sick Leave and Medical Certificates for Casual Employees
In September 2025, consumer goods giant Nestlé summarily dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe due to his “undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate.” The office affair was first flagged via Nestlé’s internal whistleblower reporting tool. Nestlé’s initial investigation concluded no wrongdoing on the CEO’s part.
However, the company received more complaints alleging the CEO’s conflicts of interest and favouritism towards the young female employee with whom he was romantically linked. No further details regarding the nature of the affair have been made public.
Nestlé’s board ordered a second investigation, this time conducted by an external party. Throughout the first and second investigations, Mr Freixe repeatedly denied the office affair. However, the external investigators corroborated that it did take place while Mr Freixe continued managing the female employee as his direct report.
Faced with conclusive findings of serious misconduct, the board dismissed Mr Freixe without any severance package or exit payout. The 63-year-old Mr Freixe, who was based in Switzerland, had been at the company for nearly 40 years and served as CEO for around a year.
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While not strictly an office affair, the NSW unfair dismissal case Pozzato v Toni & Guy York St Pty Ltd [2026] told the story of a very messy office romance. A Sydney hairdresser was fired by his ex-partner, the owner of the Toni & Guy salon where he worked. The two had been in a romantic relationship that ended and which the hairdresser described as “volatile.” While the hairdresser was on medical leave, the owner fired him for abandonment of employment, having emailed him warnings to a dormant Hotmail address. The Fair Work Commission found the sacking was opportunistic and unfair, awarding the hairdresser compensation.
Roberto Pozzato, an Italian national and award-winning hairdresser, started working at Toni & Guy Sydney City in November 2022. The salon was owned by Belinda Morton. Mr Pozzato and Ms Morton had been in a romantic relationship which ended in November 2023. During Fair Work unfair dismissal proceedings, Ms Morton described the relationship as “unhealthy” and Mr Pozzato described it as “volatile”. Police became involved, though no court recorded any convictions. They kept living together until August 2024, and Mr Pozzato kept working at the salon. He said Ms Morton bullied him at work from the time the relationship ended.
In August 2024, the same month he moved out, Mr Pozzato began a romantic relationship with a colleague, a fellow stylist. He said the bullying worsened. The colleague gave evidence that she often saw Ms Morton speak to him in a “harsh, belittling and dismissive way” in front of staff and clients. Ms Morton denied calling him names in front of colleagues, but accepted she may have called him a “little boy” in private. On 28 August 2024, Mr Pozzato raised his concerns with the franchisor, Toni & Guy Australia. He said they were not acted on.
Read more: What makes a good Fair Work Commission representative?
In late November 2024, a hairdresser colleague said Mr Pozzato’s partner had told him that Mr Pozzato assaulted her outside work. Mr Pozzato denied this, and his partner disputed how her colleague described what she told him. The colleague later alleged Mr Pozzato tried to intimidate him by staring, slamming objects and moving clients away from him. Mr Pozzato denied the allegations.
Ms Morton gave Mr Pozzato a formal warning on 17 December 2024. He was suspended on 1 July 2025 while the salon investigated and received a second formal warning on 24 July 2025. On 4 July 2025, he lodged his own complaint alleging bullying by Ms Morton and the colleague.
Mr Pozzato took personal leave from 25 July 2025. When he returned about two weeks later, the salon door code had been changed. He took personal leave again from 16 August 2025 and provided a medical certificate that said he had no capacity for work until 23 September 2025. It cited a major depressive episode with anxiety due to workplace bullying and harassment.
Around 7 September 2025, Mr Pozzato was charged with common assault over a 2021 incident involving Ms Morton. He denied it, and the charge was dismissed, but he consented to an apprehended violence order in respect of Ms Morton. Ms Morton emailed Mr Pozzato three times in early September 2025 asking when he would return. These were sent to a Hotmail address, which Mr Pozzato said had been dormant.
One email said that, as he had provided no certificate or evidence, the salon considered he had abandoned his employment and it was terminated immediately. On 12 September 2025, Ms Morton phoned him and said words to the effect of, “Check your emails, you’ve been dismissed.” She then forwarded the earlier emails to his Gmail address.
In his Fair Work unfair dismissal claim, Mr Pozzato argued:
In response to the Fair Work unfair dismissal claim, the salon initially said it sacked Mr Pozzato for abandonment of employment. However, at the Fair Work Commission hearing, it conceded he had provided a medical certificate, and accepted there was no abandonment of employment. The salon then argued that Mr Pozzato had received multiple warnings about his conduct towards colleagues, and would not have remained employed for much longer.
Mr Pozzato’s Fair Work unfair dismissal claim was decided by the Fair Work Commission in August 2026. It made the following findings:
The Commission noted that Mr Pozzato was medically unfit to work, and given the hostile workplace, was unlikely to have returned to the salon. He would have been paid only for his remaining personal leave of 42 hours, about $1,415, before moving to unpaid leave. The salon was ordered to pay that amount to Mr Pozzato within 21 days.
A relationship ending is not itself a valid reason for termination of employment. An employer needs a valid reason related to your capacity or conduct, and a fair process. Where conflict from a personal relationship affects the workplace, an employer can act on genuine misconduct, but must be able to show it occurred.
In Pozzato v Toni & Guy York St Pty Ltd [2026], a Sydney hairdresser was fired by his ex-partner, who owned the Toni & Guy salon where he worked. The Fair Work Commission found there was no valid reason for his termination of employment. It was not persuaded he had engaged in the misconduct alleged, as the conflict largely resulted from personal relationship dynamics. It found the termination of employment was opportunistic and ordered $1,415 in compensation.
Workplace affairs can result in conflicts of interest, damaged professional relationships, complaints, disciplinary action or dismissal. The consequences may be more serious when the relationship involves a manager and a subordinate, particularly where favouritism, coercion or misuse of authority is alleged.
Before treating an absence as abandonment of employment, an employer is generally expected to try to contact the employee through every reasonable channel. This includes via phone, email and post, to check for an explanation like illness or injury. It should then put the concern in writing, set a date for the employee to return or explain the absence, and warn that failing to do so could end the employment.
In Pozzato v Toni & Guy York St Pty Ltd [2026], a Sydney hairdresser on medical leave was fired after his employer said he had abandoned his employment. The employer had sent warning emails to his dormant Hotmail address, knowing the hairdresser regularly used his work addresses. At the Fair Work hearing, the employer conceded the hairdresser had provided a medical certificate for his leave, so there was no abandonment of employment. The Fair Work Commission found the termination of employment unfair and ordered $1,415.25 in compensation.
We at A Whole New Approach help workers across Australia with unfair dismissal, general protections, sexual harassment and forced resignation claims. Your first consultation with us is free and confidential, and we operate on a no-win, no-fee basis. Call us seven days per week on 1800 333 666.
