A home appliance and technology store has been charged for flouting an Industrial Relations refusal and opening its doors on Boxing Day 2012.

JB Hi-Fi in Tamworth petitioned NSW Industrial Relations for permission to open on December 26, saying the store’s location qualified it for special consideration. NSW IR refused the request saying the store did not fall under any exceptional circumstances and it was not in employees’ interests.

The Tamworth JB Hi-Fi opened on Boxing Day anyway and has now been fined the paltry sum of $500. That figure is considered insignificant compared to the profits made from an entire day’s trading.  The Fair Work Act permits reasonably requesting an employee work on a public holiday, though the employee may likewise reasonably refuse.