A Spanish fly-in-fly-out tradie living in Australia couldn’t believe what his boss did for him after he received devastating news his mum had died back in his home country.
The FIFO employee worked for a major mining company, flying onto the site to work for two weeks, then flying out to enjoy 14 days off.
He had just finished a shift when his superintendent told him to call his family immediately.
‘I made the call and discovered that my mother had passed away in Spain,’ he said.
‘Obviously, I was devastated.’
When the heartbreaking news broke, his manager went above and beyond to make sure he was not alone in his grief.
‘My superintendent arranged for an employee to stay with me and take me back to camp,’ the employee said.
‘Shortly after, the company’s administrators got in contact. And with the support of my wife, they helped make all of the arrangements to fly me out to Spain so that I could be with my family.
The employee shared his bittersweet story with British career expert Ben Askins (pictured)
The FIFO worker said he was deeply touched by the company’s support following the loss of his mum.
‘They didn’t have to do this and it’s a beautiful gesture that’s stayed with me,’ he said.
The employee shared his bittersweet story with British career expert Ben Askins, who is known on social media for calling out ‘toxic’ bosses for their shocking behaviours.
‘I’m so sorry this happened to you but what a great story,’ Ben said in his video.
‘I love these types of stories because it’s great to see people doing the right thing and it’s just the way to keep a business moving and help it grow.
‘This company 100 per cent did the right thing morally, credit to them, but it’s also a really smart business decision.
Ben explained how personal things like family deaths are inevitable so they’re going to ‘leak into your professional life’.
‘It’s one of those sad things that will happen at some point and companies have a choice: they can either stand up and support their employees or they can be an obstacle, get in the way and ruin the relationship,’ he said.
‘His company was smart commercially because if you look after your team, they’re going to be so much more motivated to come back to work for you.’
A Spanish fly-in-fly-out tradie living in Australia couldn’t believe what his boss did for him after he received devastating news his mum had died back in his home country (stock image)
His video has been viewed more than 180,000 times across his social media platforms, with many Aussies sharing their experiences after a family loss.
‘When I was working at a car wash in Australia, my mum passed and my boss not only gave me an advance on my pay but gave me like $500 extra on top of that and told me to take off as much time as I need,’ one revealed.
‘I’ve worked FIFO for a while now and this isn’t a rare occurrence. We get looked after pretty well. It’s a very different work environment where we live with each other 24/7 for two weeks out of four,’ another shared.
‘My husband and I both worked in the Pilbara mines in Western Australia when he suddenly passed away. The company arranged for me to return home to my family, sending a person with me for support. They paid for everything,’ one said.
However, not everyone had the same experience at work.
‘My grandfather collapsed so I got on a train to go see him. I rang work to inform them I wouldn’t be in for the rest of the week. Area manager called me back to say I’d be sacked if wasn’t in the next day. I hung up and carried on my journey. Luckily my grandfather went on to live another 10 years,’ one shared.
‘When my father-in-law died, of course I had to up and leave work, travelling 90 minutes into London. All the company I worked for asked was, “When are you coming back?” Shocking,’ another revealed.
Meanwhile, many were amazed with the FIFO worker’s outcome, with one saying: ‘Wait. That was really nice of the boss. Caught me off guard.’