NAB confirms exec fired over joke gone wrong
A senior leader at NAB’s digital bank Ubank has lost their job after a staged “terrorist hostage” scenario at the company’s Sydney Christmas party triggered a formal workplace investigation and swift disciplinary action.
The episode, which took place on November 18 at The Ivy in the CBD, has become a case study in how quickly behaviour at work functions can escalate into serious conduct issues – particularly when senior executives are involved and images are shared among staff.
Ubank chief executive Kanishka Raja confirmed on Monday that the bank had dismissed a senior executive following the incident, saying the decision followed an internal investigation into the events at the party.
The bank has not named the executive. It is understood they were initially stood down before their employment was terminated.
The incident first surfaced on industry gossip site AussieCorporate, where an anonymous whistleblower described a photograph taken during the event. In that image, the senior executive was reportedly on their knees with hands behind their back, “suggesting they were a hostage or captive”. A junior staff member was standing over them, hands shaped as a gun and pointed at the executive.
The junior employee was said to be wearing a towel as a makeshift headdress, “which was understood to be an attempt to depict a terrorist”. The image was circulated internally, and the whistleblower alleged the executive had been “not seen” at work since it began doing the rounds.
Raja said the expectations for Ubank’s leadership were clear.
“Senior leaders are expected to model appropriate behaviour consistent with our policies,” he said.
“We take matters relating to our Code of Conduct extremely seriously, we have investigated thoroughly and acted swiftly.”
For HR professionals, the facts of the case are familiar: a work-branded celebration, alcohol, a power imbalance between senior and junior staff, and a “joke” built around terrorism and cultural stereotyping. What is notable here is the speed and severity of the organisational response, particularly given the executive’s seniority and Ubank’s growth ambitions.
Ubank sits within NAB as its digital banking business, formed by merging the original Ubank – launched in 2008 – with online lender 86 400 after NAB acquired the latter in a $220 million deal in 2021. The unit is regarded as a relatively small but fast-expanding arm of the major bank and is understood to operate with a measure of independence from its parent.
Raja stepped into the chief executive role in March, following the departure of former boss Phillipa Watson. He oversees a tight executive group that spans customer, technology, risk, people, finance and operations.
Against that backdrop, the Christmas party stunt underscores a number of themes that HR leaders across sectors are grappling with.
First, organisations are increasingly treating off-site, after-hours functions as extensions of the workplace when they are organised, funded or branded by the employer. Codes of conduct, discrimination and harassment obligations, and reputational considerations do not stop when staff move from the office to a bar or event venue.
Second, there is heightened sensitivity to conduct that plays on terrorism, racialised imagery or religious and cultural stereotypes. Even where participants see it as a joke, other employees may experience it as threatening, humiliating or exclusionary – particularly when a senior leader is involved and when images are widely shared.
Third, the incident highlights the particular responsibility on executives to act as culture carriers. In Raja’s own words, senior leaders are expected to “model appropriate behaviour”; when they instead lead or participate in stunts that breach those norms, organisations are increasingly willing to take decisive action, up to and including dismissal.
From an HR perspective, the Ubank case is likely to prompt renewed attention to pre-event briefings for managers, clarity about what is and is not acceptable at themed events, and the importance of clear reporting channels when staff feel uncomfortable speaking up – especially where a power imbalance exists.
As end-of-year functions continue across corporate Australia, the message from Ubank’s response is unambiguous: conduct at work celebrations is being judged against the same standards as behaviour inside the office, and seniority offers no protection when the organisation’s values, policies and code of conduct are seen to have been breached.
