Italian chef fired over refusal to put pineapple on pizza loses unfair dismissal claim

Italian chef Davide Tamburella lost his bid to regain his job after Brisbane's La Costa restaurant dismissed him for refusing to make ham and pineapple pizza.

• Tamburella was fired from La Costa on 20 May after management cited his refusal to provide ham and pineapple pizza to function guests.
• Tamburella stated pineapple on pizza was "an insult to his culture"; the commission noted it was his third refusal in four years.
• The Fair Work Commission dismissed his application on Tuesday, ruling it was filed too late and did not meet exceptional-circumstances criteria.
• The tribunal heard the restaurant also ended Tamburella's employer-sponsored skilled-worker visa process after the sacking.
• Tamburella's final refusal came at a large function whose clients had spent over A$15,000.
• The restaurant manager said he delayed notifying authorities about Tamburella's end of employment, hoping his permanent residency would be approved, but it was not.