Ray Favorito appealed to the Industrial Relations Commission to overturn the council’s April 2018 decision and reinstate him in the role he’d held for four years, despite colleagues claiming some of his actions had put them in serious danger and saying they refused to work with him again.

One colleague giving evidence before the commission recalled an incident where Favorito’s bullish behaviour prompted a delivery driver to spit at them and use his own vehicle to block their exit.

“I went home in tears and extremely shaken up,” the woman said.

“I thought when I started the job that I [would have] some bad experiences from the public, but I never thought that a colleague would be the cause of it.”

Another colleague said she’d heard Favorito condescendingly say to drivers disobeying parking signs “can’t you read?”.

The commission heard Favorito already had two formal written warnings against him and was on probationary employment when Wollongong Uber driver Malcolm Rogers accused him of being aggressive during their interaction in February this year.

Mr Rogers claimed Favorito was “abrupt” and “rude” when issuing him a ticket for stopping in a No Stopping zone in Richardson Street, and had failed to take into account his passenger’s pressing medical issues.

Favorito denied the allegations, claiming Mr Rogers had been the aggressor.

The council reviewed the case and ultimately found the matter proven, leading the Favorito’s sacking.

Favorito appealed to the IRC, claiming the decision was unreasonable.

However, Commissioner John Murphy found the council had acted appropriately in firing Favorito, describing parts of his evidence at the hearing as “utterly unconvincing”.

He said Favorito’s behaviour – as described by Mr Rogers – was consistent with the reports from Favorito’s colleagues, and came at a time he was already under great scrutiny.

“There can be no doubt that, as of October 6, 2017, having reached such a critical stage in the disciplinary process, Mr Favorito was well aware that any further acts of misconduct by him….would almost certainly result in the termination of his employment,” Commissioner Murphy wrote in a judgement handed down last week.

“Acting in an aggressive, abrupt and rude manner towards Mr Rogers on February 6, 2018 constituted such an act of misconduct.”

What Malcolm Rodgers said:

“After I had turned around I opened my window and said to the parking officer ‘Is there any problem?’ He said in an extremely abrupt manner ‘you cannot stop here to pick up anyone’. I said politely ‘I didn't stop my vehicle nor did I park in a no stopping zone’.

“The officer in a very rude manner then said ‘I have taken your photo and you can ague this with the magistrate in court’. He showed absolutely no remorse for his actions and his aggressive tone of voice.”

What Ray Favorito said:

“At no stage was I rude, aggressive or abrupt with...Mr Rodgers. At all times I tried to diffuse the conflict to avoid any stress or to compromise my personal safety as I remained on the opposite side of the road.

“It is very common for members of the public who have received an infringement to retaliate against the issuing Parking Ranger with accusations of inappropriate conduct once the infringement is received &/or proven. I felt that Mr Rodger's attempted to intimidate me after he received the fine as he was loud and aggressive in his demeanour in an attempt to not receive a fine.”

What his colleagues said: 

James Furlong (ranger):

“During my time working in parking I observed Ray to be unwilling to engage members of the public in a respectful and courteous manner concerning parking matters on numerous occasions.”

Josette McIlquham (ranger):

“I witnessed Ray on numerous occasions taking photos of offences and not engaging with the public and on occasion when the public tried to talk to him, ignoring them.”

Roberta Costa (ranger):

“It has been explained to me that the commission has the power to reinstate Ray if his application is successful. If that happened I would be very anxious about being required to work with Ray given his past behavior.”

Damien Madigan (manager):

“Ray has not demonstrated any interest or capacity to change his behavior and attitude towards the public which have been the subject of complaints made about him, and re-occurrences of the same nature are likely.”

Stuart Boyle (ranger services coordinator):

“If Ray was reinstated I would have significant concerns about his ability to work as a team with other rangers, and to comply with council’s requirements concerning behaviour, including interactions with members of the public.”