Can work related expenses affect income for the purposes of an unfair dismissal claim?

Under s 382 of the Fair Work Act 2009, a person is protected from unfair dismissal if he or she is covered by a modern award or agreement, or if their income is less than the high income threshold.

 

In the case of Mr Read, he claimed that he was protected from unfair dismissal once work related deductions like car and mobile phone were taken into account. The Fair Work Commission rejected this argument and said that the Fair Work Act was based on equal outcomes for equal wages, disregarding income tax related deductions.

 

Do you think this is fair outcome? Should income tax deductions form the basis of a “real wage”?