They say there’s no such thing as a free lunch but that’s exactly what KFC is putting on the table after a veteran postie lost his job for using a work car to visit the fast food giant.

The Australia Post worker was dismissed in September, with a KFC lunch run partly to blame for bringing his 36-year career there to a close.

Among several reasons used to support the decision, Australia Post said the former driver and sorter did not have permission to use a work vehicle to pick up the meal in Mayfield, in the NSW city of Newcastle and had failed to inform a supervisor where he was.

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The postal service claimed too that he was unreasonable, disrespectful and evasive when asked to explain where he went.

The Fair Work Commission ultimately sided with the employer after the case was heard in May.

KFC’s ‘very urgent postcards’

KFC Australia said it wanted to ensure future visits are considered “official business” and will give posties a genuine reason to visit — a Zinger Box on the house.

The trade-off for the free meal? A postcard.

The fried chicken chain said it will send physical mail via Australia Post to its owns restaurant sites, with posties on the delivery run able to score the bite to eat.

“To ensure future visits by postal workers are strictly official business, KFC is immediately posting a bunch of very urgent postcards addressed to ourselves,” a spokesperson for the Colonel said. “These will be arriving to select local KFC restaurants across the country soon.  “The good news for posties – we need you to deliver this essential mail right inside the restaurant.

“When you do, simply hand the postcard over the counter to a friendly team member, and it is redeemable for a free meal.” 

KFC is sending physical mail to its itself, with posties delivering it able to score a free meal. Credit: Bianca De Marchi/AAP

The postie at the centre of the Fair Work case was entitled to a 30-minute unpaid lunch break but it was claimed he did not take it at the scheduled time of 10.40am, and that he was absent for more than an hour.

In defending the lay-off, Australia Post claimed the veteran team member had also left work 30 minutes early without permission multiple times, and could not be reached when he was absent on 19 occasions between May 23 and June 26, 2025.

Australia’s workplace tribunal deputy president Tony Saunders said the worker’s conduct was “of such a grave nature as to be repugnant to the employment relationship”.

“(The worker) was unwilling to comply with lawful and reasonable directions to speak with managers — even when he had no knowledge of what they wanted to talk about, contact his employer about his absence from work, obtain permission from his supervisor before leaving work early for the day, and let his supervisor know if he was taking lunch at a time and place different from that stated in his duty statement for his shift,” Saunders said.

Australia Post cleared to increase price of standard letter postage

News of the free meals comes as the price of sending a letter with Australia Post is set to go up.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) announced Wednesday it would not oppose a proposed stamp price increase of 8.8 per cent as the postal service looks to recoup costs amid declining letter usage.

“Our findings suggest Australia Post will still fall slightly short of recovering the efficient costs of providing these services, even with the proposed price increase,” ACCC Commissioner Anna Brakey said.