A former superyacht worker who argued his billionaire boss sacked him unfairly has lost his case, despite his contract being found to be 'poorly expressed'.

The $6million sale of a superyacht formerly owned by rich-lister Paul Lederer was at the centre of an unfair dismissal claim thrown out by the Fair Work Commission last week.

Lederer, who built his fortune as CEO of the meat-processing empire Primo Smallgoods and co-owner of A-League club Western Sydney Wanderers, has an estimated net worth $1.98billion.

Former deckhand and engineer Omar Burcham worked aboard the 35-metre superyacht the Crystal Lady for 20 months, during which time it was owned by Lederer's estate.

He was hired by Captain Brock Schutt in May 2024 as part of a crew tasked with maintaining the Crystal Lady, which had been listed for sale after Lederer upgraded to a new vessel four months earlier.

Schutt advised him the role was temporary and would cease upon sale of the Crystal Lady. 

In his application lodged with the Fair Work Commission, Burcham alleged he was unfairly sacked from the Crystal Lady on Christmas Eve 2025.

A copy of Burcham's contract, included in the FWC's published decision, stipulated his employment status as 'permanent, full-time' on a 'fixed term ending on sale of boat'.

Per the decision, there was a mutual agreement between both parties that Burcham's employment was linked to and would end on the yacht's sale.

More than 18 months later, in December 2025, the yacht's crew was advised the Crystal Lady had been sold. The sale was originally expected to be finalised on Christmas Eve, but was brought forward to December 19.

Burcham, along with the rest of the yacht's crew, was told to vacate their cabins and remove any personal belongings by 3pm on December 19.

As a 'courtesy', staff were given the option to work an additional five days on a different vessel, before their employment would be terminated on December 24.

However, Burcham argued that he was 'directed' to work on the other vessel, which he said meant his employment continued beyond the Crystal Lady's settlement on December 19.

According to Burcham's submissions outlined in the decision, he argued the employer 'maintained control over the ending of the employment relationship' - and it was on these grounds that he argued his December 24 termination was an unfair dismissal.

Lawyers for Lederer refuted that Burcham was dismissed, arguing that his employment was terminated upon the completion of his duties on December 24.

They stated that any employment period following the Crystal Lady's sale was 'incidental' and did not convert the arrangement into ongoing employment.

Lederer's team submitted there were no new or modified contracts entered into, and Burcham's employment ended on December 24 - the date originally agreed upon.

The Commission found Burcham had the choice to take on the additional work beyond the Crystal Lady's sale, and he was not directed to do so.

It was also ruled that the 'scant evidence of discussions' between Schutt and Burcham about undertaking additional work did not indicate any change to the original contract.

However, the Commission described Burcham's employment status as being 'poorly expressed' in the original contract, which was 'uncertain in nature' by not specifying a fixed time period.

The decision follows a previous Fair Work case involving Lederer, where a private jet flight attendant successfully challenged her dismissal in 2023.

The Commission found there was no valid reason for Pejr Business Aviation, an entity of the Lederer Group, to dismiss Corin Davoren after she refused a last-minute direction to change hotels during a US trip.